History's Most Stubborn and Knucklehead-ed Warrior
by BirnaBerry
Summary: A warrior is someone who specializes in combat and warfare. But, what does a warrior fight for when all he's known is in the past? Naruto has found himself in a strange land after fighting Sasuke at the Valley of the End and has been lost in more ways than one. Now, he's found a path to walk down once more. Not as a shinobi, but as a martial artist. Don't flinch, dattebayo!
1. A Start To A New Life

**Greetings readers new and old! Some of you may have read my first story under the Naruto/Fairy Tail category and thus stumbled onto this or will find your way to that first story through this. Either way, this story is in no way taking over my first story, but rather this is something so I don't burn out on my first story and get bored with it. I don't know exactly when I'll get back to A Sage in Fiore, but that's because: one, the next chapter was wiped off of my laptop while it got a virus and thus I am feeling very reluctant to start over. Two, this idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while and I figure I could do worse for my second project. **

**Now, the thing we will all wonder about: Naruto's capabilities. Chakra, for the most part, is effectively not a relevant concept. While in most crossovers, Naruto keeps his abilities, for this one, I'm making him obey the rules of the new reality for the most part. His chakra will behave more like the ki that fighters are familiar with while only having a few traits of chakra left. Naruto will currently be limited to enhancing his body with chakra (and doing a terrible job at it until he gets properly conditioned and then keeps working at it), using the rasengan (powered down and invisible since ki for the most part cannot be seen though there will be exceptions), and using the tree-walking and water-walking techniques to a much lesser degree of effectiveness. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to Rock Lee version of Naruto essentially. This Naruto will be focusing more on hand-to-hand combat and using weapons. That means no sage mode, no rasenshuriken, no bijudama, ect. **

**Kurama is here as well, but more of a source of extremely potent dou ki and lots of it. His influence will be seen in berserker combat and tailed-beast states similar to the original ones seen in the manga/anime. **

**Both Naruto and Kurama will also be slightly different than their source selves at the time they're introduced (Naruto has spent two years here already and thus is at the same age he would be at the start of Shippuden). With the time spent in their new world, both have been exposed to various aspects of the times and society. Also, you will notice a snarky sense of comradeship between Naruto and Kurama despite Naruto not knowing his name yet. This is due to factors that will be explained as the story progresses, but rest assured that they don't completely agree with each other yet on everything. There will be struggles between the two that won't be as cut and clear as you would expect.  
**

**While the only crossover I've really read in this category is History's Strongest Shinobi by Kenchi618 and History's Strongest ****Tenant Uzumaki by Foxhound40504, I hope to set myself apart from them and other stories here. **

**I hope you all enjoy the first chapter and hopefully the second one will follow soon.**

* * *

"Ninety-eight….ninety-nine….one hundred! Take it, dattebayo!"

The words of a fifteen year old Uzumaki Naruto reverberated in his small apartment as he finished his early morning warm-up. Well, warm-up for him and an extreme work-out for the everyday civilian. This wasn't for training, but just to shake the leftover exhaustion out of him and get his blood flowing. Thus, his warm-up was simply one hundred push-ups… with plenty of weight on his back. Weight in the form of a boulder that he kept in his apartment.

A boulder he brought up to his humble abode for this very reason and decided to name "Sakura".

He thought it was appropriate since it reminded him of his old teammate's forehead with its smoothness, durability, and size.

For the record, he only went through with it because he was positive that there was no way the pink-haired girl could punish him for it. And nostalgia, can't forget the nostalgia. Keep the past alive and what not.

Plus, it doubled as a pet since his landlord didn't allow actual animals. That and his small collection of plants. He definitely wasn't lonely or anything. Just because he had to live here alone without any friends that shared his interest in training or any way to contact his home didn't mean he was lonely. Or his physical appearance that screamed "foreigner" to a society where blond hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin were practically non-existent as a natural phenotype. So what if he was the odd one out, he was fine.

Nope, not lonely at all.

"**Oi, Brat. Who's alone now? Last time I checked, I do count as company of a sort."**

"Shut up, Furball. Talking to myself only goes so far and I can't just waste all my time in my head with you."

"**Mind your tongue, Brat. You should be honored to spend any time hearing my voice, let alone speaking with me. I put up with your shit; not the other way around." **

"Tch, damn fox. Go chase a rabbit or something."

"**None to be found. Maybe if you spent more time in here you would be able to make it look bearable and have at least something besides myself here. Sage knows your brain hasn't been found yet."**

Ah yes, the great Kyūbi no Yōko or rather the Nine Tailed Demon Fox. The sentient mass of chakra with anger issues sealed within him. Despite being one of the strongest beings Naruto or anyone else could ever know, it was something of a letdown when you realize all that power was worthless when sealed within the blond unless certain circumstances were met. His charming personality also left something to be desired despite being more agreeable over the last two years. Agreeable enough to at least have conversations with Naruto that consisted mostly of insults and jibes at the boy without putting any real bite into them or threatening the boy with being devoured.

They actually were almost friendly! Or at least as friendly as one could be with a being that hated everything to one extent or the other.

"I'm sure you've looked very hard from inside that cage. In all the nooks and crannies of my head. Oh, wait…"

"**All of my hatred, Boy."**

"Suck it, dattebayo." The internet and TV really did make his choice of wording more crude. The Kyūbi approved and that really should have alarmed Naruto, especially when the Kyūbi started to pick up a few insults as well.

The conversation ended there as Naruto entered the shower of his living space to get ready for the day. Talking while taking a shower was simply too strange to Naruto and probably for plenty of other people. You just don't converse while standing naked under a flow of water, especially with another male. Was the Kyūbi even male? Did the fox even have a gender? Eh, probably not a good idea to ask.

Warm water soon flowed from above him and he let out a small sigh of appreciation. He still had plenty of time before he had to head out for school. A small scowl briefly graced his features before it passed. There were only two reasons he went to classes: one, as a ward of the state, he was required to attend to continue receiving his stipend and two, he actually needed some knowledge of how this world worked if he wanted to live and thrive.

His own world was much simpler as far as he was concerned. At least there, the knowledge he learned at the academy was only the basics of everything and then the rest was all applicable to actually being a ninja. Here, everything was about mathematics, science, and the arts. No combat training there. Even those who went on to do something involving combat had to be fairly intelligent and knowledgeable if they wanted to get anywhere from what he gathered. If not, they would remain as low-level thugs or simple security. No way was he going to do something like that for the rest of his life.

Thus, Uzumaki Naruto was forced to…actively study and do well in an academic setting.

Oh, it's probably noteworthy to know that Naruto was originally from a different world, reality, or universe. Probably more important to note that rather than the fact he was something close to a dedicated student who at least scored above average in the rankings.

It had been two years since he had awoken to find himself in an alley of the very town he resided in now after clashing against Uchiha Sasuke at the Valley of the End at the border of the Land of Fire. Shortly after, he had been found by the local police wandering in frayed and dirty clothes and taken to the station to get his story. After two weeks of interviews, searches for information, and discussions on how to handle the situation, he was placed into the custody of the state. He would receive a monthly stipend as long as he showed the responsibility and maturity to live alone and various benefits such as an education at a discount.

His first few months here were filled with dreams of returning to his original world and Konoha. Every day, Naruto would go out and search the town for any sign of how he had been brought to this new world, only paying the smallest amount of attention to his schoolwork and such. Needless to say, he had no luck. Naruto had no knowledge of travel between worlds, realties, or universes and thus had no idea on what to actually do. It was a difficult time for him to say the least. Not only was he cut off from everything he knew, had no idea how to go back, but also could not use his chakra.

Well, that was an over exaggeration. Naruto could feel his chakra and even use his chakra to reinforce himself, but ninjutsu was out of his reach. No longer could he use the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** (Shadow Clone Technique) or summon toads. The bread and butter of his former style was the use of shadow clones and being able to summon toads had been something he was extremely proud of. The only ninjutsu that was spared was the **Rasengan** (Spiraling Sphere) and he couldn't even see it anymore. Tree walking was still possible if he built up enough momentum and didn't slow down. Water walking on the other hand was abysmal to say the least. He could manage five steps with momentum before it didn't matter anymore and he would fall into whatever water he was on.

All of his chakra was now dedicated to reinforcing himself for the most part and it lead to him discovering a very crucial fact that he had been subconsciously repressing.

His taijutsu was absolutely horrible.

Without the support of his clones, he was effectively swinging his fists and hoping to hit something. Against a single punk, he was perfectly fine as he found out later. When the numbers started growing though, problems came up. It didn't matter how high his foundations were when he couldn't utilize them properly because he had no real knowledge of what he was doing and his body wasn't conditioned for advanced taijutsu or the chakra reinforcement needed for it.

Realizing how weak he was is what snapped him out of his depression at the very least. He needed to fix that, no questions asked.

Finishing up his shower, Naruto dried off and put on his uniform. A pair of blue pants and matching jacket with a white button-up shirt underneath. Simple and nothing special. Though he would leave the top two buttons of the jacket and his shirt undone since he simply hated the way it clung to him. He still took to it better than he did originally when he felt so constrained in it because it limited his movements in a fight. Maybe he should try to personalize it somehow? Something orange to put on it?

Naruto shrugged that thought off and proceeded to leave his bathroom and enter the last of the three rooms in his apartment: the room that held the kitchen along with a table, small sofa, and the TV. He picked up a slice of bread from a light brown box and dropped it into the old toaster he owned. Normally, he'd be all for getting a cup of instant ramen even for breakfast, but the Kyūbi had begun to insist that he would begin giving him monstrous headaches if he didn't stop eating so much of the noodle dish. Said headaches would not have scared him so much if it wasn't for the fact that they would come from the Kyūbi singing.

"I still don't get why you started liking those songs when you hate everything else about humans."

"**Don't try to think about it too much. A mere speck of a brute like yourself can't understand my tastes. I have to give credit where credit is due when a race like yours manages to do something right."**

"Sometimes, I really don't know if I like your 'my vessel must be strong to represent me' crap over all these shots at my race…" Really, at least when the Kyubi was trying to get him to be stronger so he wouldn't be "a blight on my strength and image" the digs at Naruto's race were limited to himself and plain out malicious. That was something Naruto was used to. Now, the Kyubi spent more of its time trying to be snarky while expressing its dislike for humans and the world. Some insults were thrown his way, but it was more like force of habit. Maybe if the Kyubi actually helped him with training by loaning its chakra, Naruto wouldn't mind as much. But, ever since coming here, he hadn't used any of the Kyubi's chakra for want of having a reason at first and then the fox saying that Naruto didn't need any rent from it without any strong opponents.

"**You should hold anything I say close to your heart, Brat. I have lived years beyond you, I have done things you will never be capable of with your fragile body and skills, and, above all, I am greatness incarnate."**

"Hai, hai…prissy, ojou-sama…"

"**It's good to see that you're beginning to see how far above your station I am. Now, if only I could teach you a proper way to address me. Too bad it seems that's beyond the ability of your fragile mind." **

"Yea, it's probably all that TV. Maybe I'll just stop watching for the next week to see how bad the damage is."

"…"

"I'm so glad you care enough about my health that you brought that up, Furball. After all, I'm just a lowly human."

'Damn, I'm doing great today. Two to nothing.'

The sound of the toast jumping out of the toaster brought Naruto out of his moment of victory and back to reality. Grabbing the piece of bread, Naruto stopped by the table in the middle of the room to pick up a black school bag before stuffing the toast in his mouth and heading out of the apartment to school.

* * *

"Ohhhh! Check out my youth, dattebayo! You got nothing on this Lee! Gai-sensei!" Naruto shouted to the heavens as he ran to school.

Over the past few months, Naruto realized that he really needed a way to spice up his life since he was so used to the life or death situations of his original world. To fix this, Naruto needed to add something to his daily routine that would result in punishment or something if he messed up. One of those things was first to walk/jog/jump as far as he could in the opposite direction of his school until he only had a certain amount of time left to be on time. Then, Naruto would sprint all the way so he wouldn't be forced to wait in the hall outside of homeroom.

Just like so.

Naruto sped down the suburban street he was on, dodging any pedestrians or objects in his way while yelling at the top of his lungs to encourage himself.

Perfectly normal and something people would expect out of him back in Konoha.

"Ora, ora, ora, ora! Nothing can stop Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! Distance means nothing!"

A group of girls wearing blue jackets, red skirts, white button-up shirts with red ribbons heard him from behind them and turned to watch the blond, hyperactive teen run towards them. Naruto noted that they were wearing the uniform of his school before bending his legs and launching himself into the air. The group of teens tensed themselves for impact and were about to shout out or scream, but stopped when they realized the blond was gone.

One of them, a girl with walnut brown hair and violet eyes, noticed a shadow passing above them and saw Naruto flying through the air. He didn't even glance down to look at them as he sailed above their heads and landed a meter away from them to continue running.

"Ano, who was that?" one girl questioned, another brunette.

"Oh, that was Uzumaki Naruto. A first year, I think. He's kind of strange though, like you saw." Another girl answered the first.

"Strange how?" asked the girl with violet eyes.

"Oh, not in a bad way, Makoto-chan. He was in my old school though and he seemed really depressed back then. But, after a while, he just snapped out of it and started acting like that. Always running off somewhere to do something. No one really knows what he does it for or why and I don't think I've seen him really talk with anyone outside of school." Answered a third girl.

Makoto frowned. "He should know he doesn't need to run like that to make it on time." Really, he could have run into their group and caused someone to get hurt.

"He was probably training. I've seen him sometimes in the park really early on Sundays using the playground to work out when I visit the bakery." The girl who stated she used to go to the same school as Naruto paused then before gaining a slight blush. "He doesn't wear a shirt during it," she stated randomly.

"Oh? Are you getting some ideas, about Uzumaki-san?" one of her friends teased. "After all, it's really inappropriate to spy on someone like that. You're like a dirty, old man."

"Sh-shut up," she defended herself, her blush growing more prominent. The girl then looked at Makoto. "I saw him using a shinai once too. Maybe he's into kendo like you are, Makoto-chan." An obvious ploy to change the subject.

Makoto's frown turned into a questioning glance. "And? He's not part of the kendo club, so he probably doesn't have that much of an interest in it. Why bring it up?"

"Oh. It's just that I think he might be lonely. Kyoka-chan just said he doesn't really talk to anyone outside of classes. Maybe he has too much free time and just wants to keep busy by doing all these weird exercises." Whew, at least they got off the topic of her watching Naruto train occasionally.

"Well, maybe if I see him with a shinai, I'll ask him about it then. It's always nice to spar against someone new." Makoto herself was part of the kendo club at Kōryō High School and was of moderate skill. But, she had a good drive to get better and was on her way to becoming an ace of the club. If things went well, she would join the regular's team and take part in more matches besides exhibitions at competitions.

As the group of girls walked towards the school, following the trail of shouts and dust that was Naruto, a man stepped around the curve of an intersection. He had messy black hair, a well-trimmed mustache, and was much taller than the average man. Despite wearing a white and blue hakama, the strangest thing about the man were his eyes: his pupils were dull and nearly colorless.

"What an interesting young man. It's uplifting to see one so young take his training so seriously."

* * *

"Ha! A new record!" Naruto shouted as he crossed the boundary of the gates to Kōryō High School. "Tomorrow, I'll get even farther way before I start running."

Yea, he felt pretty good about himself. Now, all he had to was get to homeroom and wait to see what happens in school today. Then, he could go out and train somewhere. Maybe out in the woods nearby? It would be nice if he could find some thugs to practice on, though they would have to be unaffiliated with Ragnarok, which was becoming a hassle to find. Ragnarok was perhaps the strongest, if not also the biggest, gang in the city. They tore apart all of their rivals and frequently scouted anyone who showed even a modicum of talent for fighting. Naruto had no desire to be part of a gang or to pick a fight with them for no reason. As long as he didn't catch them doing anything wrong in his sight and they didn't know about him, Naruto had no desire to start a war against a gang full of punks.

Though it could be a good test for his skills…

Naruto's thoughts on the matter ceased when he entered his homeroom and took a seat. He placed his head on his arms and prepared himself mentally for yet another long day of trying to pay attention. While he did do above-average on ranked exams and in class, it took more effort than it was probably worth. Sitting still and listening to lectures on subjects that didn't have a physical application just wasn't his way. He would be much better off taking a class on how to wield a weapon in his opinion. It was one of the ways he tried to compensate for his lack of ninjutsu. His former experience in weapons simply extended to throwing shuriken and kunai with some basics on using kunai up close. Now, he was trying to go past that by learning how to throw his shuriken with more accuracy and increasing the amount he could use at a time and the same went for his kunai. Though he also was trying to find ways to use kunai in close combat beyond just striking wildly.

'I really wish I asked Tenten for advice at some point or another…'

Even finding decent quality shuriken and kunai was difficult to say the least. Most were just cheap pieces meant for display and those that Naruto did find tended to be very sharp and thus dangerous to use in fights against common thugs that he just wanted to beat down. Thus, all his meager supply of weapons were dull and blunted compared to what he was used to and he had to take very good care of them.

"Quiet down everyone, we'll be beginning shortly." A bald man wearing glasses and a suit said as he walked.

He set his briefcase down at the desk in the front of the class before turning to the chalkboard to begin writing down the topics for the day. The moment he finished, the bell also rang.

"Rise." A student in the front row said as all the student in the room rose from their seats. Naruto did so reluctantly, dreading when he'd have to sit back down

"Bow."

"Good morning, Sensei!" the students all said, some with enthusiasm and some without. Mostly without.

"Good morning class. Today, I'd like to review what we went over yesterday before jumping into the new material. Your exams are still a bit far away, but with diligent preparation now, you won't be as worried later. I'd especially like it if those of you in the middle would push a bit more. Those of you that haven't been doing well should not take it hard; there's still time for you to catch up as long as you attend classes."

Naruto was sure that he would've gone on longer if the door didn't start to open.

With lightening reflexes, the teacher grabbed the chalkboard eraser and threw it at the opening in the door.

Smack.

Standing at the door, a person wearing the same uniform as Naruto stood shocked with the eraser somehow clinging to his face before it dropped.

The teacher stood in a crouched position from following through with his throw. A corner of his head seemed to be twitching and Naruto attributed this to the Japanese phenomena called a "twitch mark". He had yet to master it, but hoped one day he could express his irritation the same way. So much better than practicing on how to brood.

"I do not know who is in more pain… a teacher having to punish a student for not showing respect by attending on time is a painful thing. But, I know whose fault it is!" he stated as he looked at the boy.

Ah, Naruto recognized him now. This was Shirahama Kenichi. He was a first year just like Naruto who had wild, spiky brown hair cut in a medium length style and seemed to be an introvert and someone who lacked confidence when looking at him. One of the most curious things about the boy was that he constantly wore a bandage below his left eye. He was also very weak according to hearsay and was often the subject of bullying and ridicule. No strong points really. But, he was a decent sort and Naruto wasn't one to judge others on their qualities. Unless said qualities made you a dick.

Then he'd judge you mentally and physically by beating the ever-living soul of common decency into you.

Kenichi scrambled into a bow to apologize to the teacher. "I'm sorry! Please allow me to stand outside for punishment today!"

Really, the guy was well-mannered. Naruto probably would've told the teacher to lighten up and point out that it would just hurt Kenichi in the long run to stand outside and not learn anything.

Still, not his place right now and this wasn't exactly a serious misuse of authority and all that. Then it would be his place to do whatever he damn well pleased.

The teacher then handed a bucket to Kenichi to hold while outside. "Obviously," the teacher stated with slightly less irritation. At least the guy would get some endurance training out of this if he kept to it.

"Now then, we have a new student join us today. I was about to get to her introduction before we were so rudely interrupted. This is the transfer student, Fūrinji Miu."

Walking out of a corner of the room, a girl that Naruto didn't notice while in his thoughts went to the front of the room. She was quite the beauty despite her features being quite rare to nonexistent in Japan like Naruto's. She had long blonde hair that she had braided into a tail that only allowed a few strands to fall down her forehead and bright, blue eyes. Her heart-shaped face was definitely pleasant to look at, but not the only thing males would like to look at. Her body had all the right curves with long legs that were exposed by the skirt of the uniform she wore. Her breasts would be what most of the boys here would look at though; they were extraordinarily developed for a girl her age.

Naruto didn't pay any attention to that yet though. Naruto paid attention to the way she moved. She had a grace to her that spoke of flexibility, contained power, and the knowledge of how to use it. The girl was a fighter, short and simple. A very good and highly trained fighter. Leagues and years ahead of the various thugs and punks Naruto had fought here.

She would be a challenge that he didn't know if he could defeat.

'I wonder if I can ask her for a spar without making it look like I'm trying to confess to her?'

"**Brat, you wouldn't even be able to touch her as you are now."**

'Perfect.'

"**Ah, you're a masochist. If only I knew before we came to this world. I would've enjoyed letting your wounds heal more slowly. Maybe I'll start now?" **

'You wouldn't!'

"**I notice you didn't deny you were a masochist"**

'Fuck you.'

"**I didn't know you rolled that way. Sorry, even if I was a human, I'm sure I would prefer the female variety of your misbegotten species. Still, at least you have taste aiming for my heart."**

'Your heart is a shriveled piece of a half-eaten raisin that you never used.'

"**Much like your brain probably. Still haven't seen it though."**

"Uzumaki! Get out of your daydreams and pay attention! I have high hopes for you; your last exam results are borderline in breaking into the next tier!"

"Hai, Sensei!"

Ugh, damn child military training. Get addressed with authority in the right tone of voice with someone not on your enemies list and you fall in right away. Not even Naruto could completely escape the academy's methods in installing a drive to follow orders.

Sadly it meant this round went to the Kyūbi.

At least he learned that it was effectively a guy. That's something.

* * *

Classes were over for the day and Naruto restrained the urge to pump his fist into the air and jump out of the window to start the rest of his day. After all, jumping out of the window is only for people who didn't want to live or were showboats to normal people.

Well, he was a showboat sometimes…

No! Resist the urge!

Naruto sighed. Sometimes living with common civilians being the prominent and only type of person around you can be so restraining. Back in Konoha, he could've done something like and no one would bat an eye at him. Here, he would be labeled as insane, an athletic superman, or a character from an anime. Actually, he effectively was something from an anime since the things he used to be able to do only happened in them. Even now, he was pretty sure using an invisible ball of energy as an attack was not something anyone else could replicate.

He got up and put his bag over his shoulder so he could head out like a normal person. Around him, other students were talking with their friends and making plans for the rest of the day.

A surge of envy spiked through him.

It wasn't his fault they weren't going to do anything he really was interested in. The arcade and other modern entertainment were interesting, but just didn't attract his attention for too long. He was used to an active lifestyle without things like that and couldn't help but think about the things he could be doing besides wasting time on them. Even TV was pushing it for him. He normally just set it on the news so he could keep up with what was happening in the world or channeling surfing for the Kyūbi so that it would be satisfied while Naruto did something else. Thank Kami that the fox could use his senses independently to a certain extent so Naruto didn't have to pay too much attention to whatever stroked the tailed beast's fancy.

Back to the subject of spending time with people his age or anyone in general, even the sports clubs here weren't up to his standards. Little kids just playing at fighting in his opinion. That or they were bullies who just wanted to learn ways to hurt others. It would was a much better use of his time to do this own thing.

'Oh well, might as well go home first and pick up some more kunai and shuriken. I only have a single kunai and 5 shuriken on me right now. Maybe the shinai too.' Most objects you find around town and the suburbs could count as a sword-like instrument and be useful in a fight. Best to have some experience with them and all the advantages he could get.

Due to his thoughts, Naruto's pace was quite slow and thus, he witnessed a sight that made him just the tiniest bit angry.

"You shut up! You weak leg! How dare you talk back!" shouted a….alien?

Really Naruto didn't know what to make of his appearance. The…thing was a bit above the average height for…well, for Naruto's age at least though he was a bit small himself. The haircut was definitely just weird to look at since it reminded Naruto of a small bowl. Then there was the claw-like fingernails, the pointed ears, the slightly pointy death, and sharp nose. Really, Naruto didn't know if he could classify this person as human.

'Satan, is that you?'

"**Don't go comparing something that doesn't look human to a great demon just because of that; you'll be insulting me. I can tell you for a fact that whatever he may look like, he is human…probably."**

Shit, even the Kyubi didn't know for sure.

Oh well, time to do what Naruto does best when he meets someone new that doesn't seem like a pleasant person.

Show an equally civil and appropriate response.

"Oi, stop that, Pudding Bowl!" Naruto shouted as the thing/person was stomping on Kenichi lightly after having slammed the boy to ground with hands, calling Kenichi "Weak Leg".

Both boys turned to see the blond, westerner-look alike stomping his way towards them. Naruto was not well known by name, but definitely by appearance. Many assumed he was a delinquent, regardless of whether they know of his standing in class or not. They wouldn't be completely wrong either since he did have a violent streak and something of a temper. Naruto being so asocial also didn't help.

Kenichi paled a bit at seeing the blond since he had heard various rumors about the boy walking around the city, looking for people to fight. Of course the rumors removed the part where he was fighting thugs and delinquents. All in all, Kenichi was going to assume the blond was going to beat both him and Niijima Haruo for disturbing him. Granted he was already being attacked by Niijima, but the blows from the alien/demon weren't as bad as they would be from others.

"Ah, Uzumaki Naruto! Just who I wanted to see!" Came the response from Niijima. While the boy didn't have physical power, he was intelligent, cunning, and knew how to suck up to others. This is what allowed him to move around some of the strongest and most unpleasant people in the school without getting a beat down.

Too bad none of that really would help him if Naruto decided he needed to lay down Uzumaki Law: aka, don't be a dick where I can see it or I'll beat it out of you.

"What do you think you're doing, Pudding Bowl?" Naruto growled, looking at the foot that was still on Kenichi's back.

Niijima noticed where Naruto was looking and moved his foot away. Naruto immediately went forward, pushed the strange creature known as Niijima away and checked Kenichi over to make sure no serious harm was done.

"You doing okay there, Kenichi? Anything hurt more than it should?" Naruto asked as he noticed no serious harm on the surface.

Kenichi sputtered for a moment because: one, Naruto seemed to be trying to be nice despite his reputation and appearance and two, the blond didn't use an honorific despite them not being close at all.

That was the thing about Naruto though. He really didn't see the point of honorifics when people did nothing to deserve them yet and he personally just thought being blunt was best. Teachers automatically got "sensei" just because they were literally devoting their time and maybe even life to teaching others. Helping others like that really deserved the title from him. Also, messing with people deserved honorifics.

Trying to tell him otherwise was like trying to get a boulder to float in water.

"Hey! Are you okay? Do you have internal bleeding or something?" Naruto asked as he took Kenichi's sputtering for choking on his blood.

"Ah, I'm fi-fine" Kenichi finally managed to get out.

Naruto nodded and turned his eyes to Niijima with a glare. "You better have an explanation for attacking my classmate, Pudding Bowl."

"Oh, I wasn't attacking him. It was just a little bonding between friends!" Niijima stated with a crafty smile, rubbing his palms together. "But, there's something I need to talk to you about as your senpai."

'…he's my senpai?'

"**Bwahahaha! Be sure to be helpful to your senpai,** **kōhai!" **

"Do you know what this is, Naruto?" Niijima asked as he took out a tablet PC, not adding an honorific to Naruto's name and using his first name to boot. Well, at least Naruto could appreciate that about the alien/demon known as Pudding Head to himself. "This has all the records of the information I've gathered on the freshmen class after a month." Niijima turned his attention to the tablet and began to click away with a stylus.

"Let me read your info to you first: Uzumaki Naruto. Grades: above average. Sports: exceptional, but not a part of any club. Looks: exotic, dependable on preference. Body size: normal if a bit small, but has been seen to have a developed physique. Fighting: rumored to have fought many thugs and delinquents part of small time gangs. Persistence: estimated at god-like levels. Overall: exceptional prospects!"

'…I feel so violated, but I haven't been touched at all.'

"**He knows…quite a bit about you. Yet, nothing at all at the same time…Is this what you meatbags call being 'creeped out'? It's a very unpleasant feeling; not suitable to something of my strength and status. I don't like him. Can we kill him?"**

A twitch in his left eye. 'This is the first time you've specifically singled someone out to be killed since we got here…and I'm tempted to listen.'

"But, ignoring all of that, I can't help but feel that there's more to you!" Niijima declared, a serpent-like tongue coming out of his mouth as he proclaimed his belief.

'Oh dear, sweet Kami…Hebi-teme has a son and he's here…'

"**Kill him. Right now. We still have a chance to rid this world of the spawn of that shitty meatbag before he can fester. You're a hero-type; you should know that I'm right about this, Brat."**

"That's why, I think you should try to move on up in the hierarchy of this school and let me help you! With us together, we can gain the power to rule over here!" Lightening flashed in the background somehow despite there not being a single cloud in sight.

Naruto nodded along, not wanting to make any sudden movements. He slowly inched closer to Kenichi…

And picked up the boy along with the bundle he was carrying and ran.

"Full course tactical retreat!" Naruto shouted to himself and to Kenichi.

"**What are you doing!? He's still weak! I can feel it! We need to purge him before he gets stronger!"**

'I am not taking a chances right now! He's freaking me out, dattebayo!'

* * *

Naruto dropped the boy off near where the Karate Club practiced. He was a bit surprised when the shy boy requested Naruto to put him down and when he then asked to at least be taken to where the Karate Club met when Naruto refused to put him down on the grounds that they weren't far away enough from Pudding Bowl.

"Thank you, Uzumaki-san. You really didn't need to do anything though. I'm sure I would've been fine." Kenichi said as he gave Naruto a short bow of gratitude.

Naruto chuckled awkwardly as he scratched the back of his spiky, blond hair. "It wasn't any trouble really. I thought you were getting picked on and would get hurt really bad. Anyone would've helped."

Kenichi gave a small smile at that. The blond really didn't seem to fit the rumor about him at all nor did he fit his appearance. Even the supposed tattoos on his face didn't seem like they were artificial up close. "Still, thank you. I'll be fine from here though. I hope that I can stand up for myself next time without needing your help."

"Ah, it's okay. Friends need to help others out right?" Naruto blushed for a minute in embarrassment. "U-Um, I mean if we were friends, then it would be only right. That's not to say you shouldn't help others anyway..."

Naruto paused for a minute. It really had been a while since he tried something like this.

"Uh, you wanna be friends?" Naruto asked with a grin as he extended fist.

Kenichi simply looked at him strange expression as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Kenichi's perceptions about the blond we're being shattered by the second.

"O-of course we can be friends. Uh, I'm Shirahama Kenichi." Kenichi stated as he awkwardly bumped Naruto's fist when he realized what the blond was aiming for.

Naruto grinned. It felt to so right to make that expression again. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, ass-kicker supreme." Sure they already knew each other from class or rumors, but it was a cultural thing when making a new friend to introduce oneself. Or so Naruto heard at least since most of his past friends were made using his fists to beat them first.

Kenichi nervously chuckled again, not used to Naruto's crude remarks. This at least fitted his image.

With that, Kenichi excused himself to go to Karate Club and Naruto bid his new friend good-bye and a good day.

'Heh, well that wasn't too bad. He doesn't really seem like the type for fighting, but I think he's got a hidden fire in him. Took two years, but I think I can be happy to say I've made my first friend.'

"**And your taste in companions hasn't improved at all. You surround yourself with weaklings. Then again, you're all weak compared to me. Though it's even worse this time; the boy is as weak as they come with no aptitude for combat. No talent for it whatsoever."**

'So he's not perfect, whatever. At least he's trying.'

"**Brat, the only human I can honestly say who I know that tries is you. If you're not bleeding and broken, you're not trying."**

'I think you put a bit too much emphasis on the pain part, Furball.'

"**Bah. Says you and your bleeding heart. Go get your little toys and start training. I want to see how you react to slower healing tonight."**

Naruto pointedly decided to not respond and set out in a sprint to his apartment. At least there was no one in the school halls to tell him to stop running. Within minutes, he was out of the school gates and running towards a building. Increasing his speed, he kept going towards the side of the building then channeled his chakra away from his muscles and into the soles of his feet. With practiced ease, Naruto kicked his right leg out and put his foot to the surface of the building. He followed with shifting his balance to the leg on the wall and used it swing his other leg onto the wall before quickly kicking off to not lose any more speed. Running up the small building was no easy task while keeping up the level of speed he was at, but neither was it especially difficult. He would need to find a new building to practice on.

Arriving at the top of the building, he slowed done just enough so that he could practice precise control of how much chakra he put into jumping the distances ahead of him.

Time for the motivational part of his training.

"Building ledges have nothing on me!" he shouted as he neared the edge and jumped across the gap. For a moment, he was weightless and flying through the air. Kami, it was great. That wasn't the point though, he wanted to use enough chakra and strength to go from ledge to ledge, not ledge to halfway to the next building.

He did not succeed in his goal.

While he didn't overshoot his goal by a whole building like he thought he might, Naruto still landed in the middle of the next building and dropped into a roll to stop himself from going any further.

"Damn, still too much…" Naruto cursed to himself.

"It was still a fine attempt though. Don't be disheartened; most children your age aren't capable of doing something like that at all." A voice comforted him.

Naruto quickly turned around to see a large man behind him. And when Naruto meant large, he meant _large_. His hair and beard were still a light blond despite the age his appearance suggested and he wore brown robe that didn't inhibit his movements at all. Despite looking like an old man, this individual was tall, proud, muscular, and out of Naruto's pay grade as far as potential to kick ass went. He could feel it just by standing near the man and looking at him.

If they were to fight, the old man would decimate, destroy, defeat, and utterly curb stomp him.

The only thing stopping Naruto from running at the moment were two things. One, the old man wasn't making any aggressive movements. Two, there was nothing Naruto could do to get away if the man didn't want him to.

"Uh…who are you? And if you're here to beat me up because I broke your grandson's jaw, he probably deserved it so some mercy would be nice."

That last bit came out as a squeak,

"Oh, don't be so tense! Young boys like you should relax and keep loose!" the man laughed out. "But, I'm just an old man who heard about an interesting boy who was sprinting to class from a friend and wanted to see him for myself."

"Well…nice to meet you?"

"It's nice to meet you as well, young man. Would you tell an old man your name? It's so rare to see someone your age training so hard, especially without someone to supervise or instruct."

Naruto took a breath and got back some his confidence and cheerful pep. "Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! I like ramen and training! I dislike bullies and the three minutes it takes to cook my ramen! My dream is to find a way to make the world a better place with my fists!" he punctuated that last bit by smacking his open palm with a fist. While he still might dream of returning to Konoha, that would be a bit strange to say and it was true enough. In the time since he arrived here, he decided that if he had to stay, then he wanted to find a way to make the world better by doing what he was good at.

It just so happened that what he was good at was smashing peoples' faces in.

The old man nodded, satisfied. "Most people call me the 'Elder', but I am Fūrinji Hayato. I really don't know why I'm called Elder so much, I'm not that old!" he chuckled then paused. "Well, perhaps I am slightly old."

Fūrinji? Where did he hear that name before?

"**The blonde girl with the large chest who your classmates drooled over. She just joined your class, Brat. Please learn to think for yourself. I can only give so much support to your struggling mental powers."**

'Gee, thanks so much.'

"Are you related to someone named Miu?" Naruto asked. Well, that was blunt with no follow up or introduction.

"Why, yes I am! My granddaughter and pride and joy! Are you a friend of hers?" Hayato, or the Elder, questioned with a slightly dangerous tone.

The tone that a father would use to question a potential suitor.

Nope. Nope. Nopenopenopenopenope.

Not even once. Not touching this subject.

"Uh, just a classmate. She transferred into my class today and you both have the same last name…and have the same hair color, kind of." It came out as a squeak and quick. Self-preservation is important after all.

"Oh, I hope you can become friends with her then. She really is a sweet child and has never talked with someone her own age that has skills in the martial arts," the Elder said, but then leaned forward a bit.

"Just know that if you want to court her, you'll have to beat me in a fight."

"**BWAHAHAHAHA! I hope you weren't going to go after the blonde one then, Brat. You'd have to train for years and years to even touch this one probably! And I wouldn't count on him dropping dead from age either. There's something about him. I think he might even be good enough to graduate from being a puny meatbag! Super-Meatbag it is!"**

"Haha…message received…" Naruto chuckled nervously.

"Now, your ki is really something, but your control could be better. You're going too quickly about this. Try going a little slower and giving yourself a bigger margin of error," the Elder advised.

Ki? Was that this world's word for chakra? No, probably not. Naruto wasn't even sure if he was still using chakra since he couldn't use any ninjutsu, but still referred to it as such.

"I dunno. I really haven't seen anywhere that has a gap the right size and with a height where if I fall, I won't kill myself…" Naruto retorted with a despondent tone. "Plus, it's not like I have a sensei to help me look for a place like that or help if I mess up."

"Hmm, the trouble with self-taught disciples. Still, you've done quite well for yourself. What style do you train in?"

Naruto was stumped. He never really learned a formal style. He didn't have a clan that passed down a taijutsu style and the academy base style didn't really fit him at all. The academy taught a style that emphasized counters and waiting for your opponent to make a mistake. It was a basic part of fighting and there was several aspects it lacked. But that was because genin weren't really expected to be combat ready against experienced opponents in the time frame they had in the academy with a balanced style. So, they emphasized survival.

Naruto himself was a frontline, in-your-face fighter. He was direct and meant to cause you harm and plenty of it at any chance he got. Thus, he emphasized speed and angles in his attacks so he could get the drop on you and relied on his natural strength and chakra to reinforce his blows. Of course, it meant his defense was terrible, but that was offset by his inhumane endurance. As long as it wasn't a kill-shot or an attack meant to him out in one blow, he would get up and be right as rain within a minute.

If anything, his style was street-fighting or brawling with various moves and tactics.

So, his mind resorted to its default set of responses. He answered with a cocky and crude response.

"The style of 'kicking so much ass, my foot got lost somewhere in the fight'".

Rather than berating the boy, the Elder laughed. "Ohahaha! I would've said the same thing in my youth! I remember when I challenged a dojo and decided I would only use my legs! I half-believed that I didn't have arms after!"

Okay, this was probably the coolest old man, besides the Third Hokage, that Naruto had ever met.

"No arms at all! How many people did you beat!?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, only 30. It wasn't my best work, but I was young and bored. You can only do so much training in between fights before you want another!"

"I know that feeling! It's only been a week since the last time I met any thugs downtown, but none of them are even that good! I've basically been training for the past year without any real fights! All the strong people are in Ragnarok and I am not touching that!"

Well, there went Naruto's inhibitions about talking with the Elder. Bonding through tales of blood, sweat, bruises, and broken bones. How cliché.

"Hmm, that's no good. Growth only comes when reach past your limits. Do you attend any clubs at school or perhaps a dojo you can visit?"

A sigh escaped Naruto. "No. The school clubs aren't challenging at all and I don't want to just overpower everyone. There isn't really a dojo that I know about around here that can keep up with me and teach me anything. Besides, I'm not really looking to pick up a new fighting style. Maybe some weapons training though. I'm trying to learn, but without anyone to really teach me…"

The Elder ran a hand through his beard, stroking it in thought. "Well, perhaps you missed one then. I know of a dojo that could have people that could keep up with you and someone that may be willing to teach you about wielding weapons." Here his grin turned a bit scary, his white teeth bared in a fierce gin. "Tell me, have you ever heard of Ryōzanpaku?"

Ryōzanpaku? Naruto couldn't recall any dojo or place that went by that name.

"Nope. I haven't heard of it before. Why? Are the people there that strong?" he couldn't help but feel a bubble of excitement start building up inside him and come to the surface.

"All of them are the strongest! I should know; I don't like to brag that much, but I'm the strongest there is!" the Elder laughed out.

"**If the Super-Meatbag says so, you should listen to him, Brat. This is someone who might be able to fight me if I didn't use any chakra attacks. You could use the experience of being near fighters on his level or close to it. And I can only imagine the pain you'll go through, hehe."**

'Oh, the warm, fuzzy feelings you're giving me.'

"**You might want to get that checked out. It could be cancer. I hope it's cancer."**

'Wouldn't that kill me? I thought you were all for our continued survival?'

"**Oh, I'm sure I could keep it in check. Still, it wouldn't be pleasant…for you."**

Deciding to once more ignore the fox spirit inside of him, Naruto turned his attention to the Elder again.

"Are you asking me to go there? I don't even know where it is."

"I'm not asking you to do anything. But, if you just so happened to be able to keep up with an old man while he goes home and if that home just happened to be a dojo where the strongest gather…who am I to stop a prospective member from looking around and maybe joining?"

Crafty, old fart. That was what was on Naruto's mind.

He also said it out loud.

"Ha! Watch what you say! I might just decide to teach you something one day and then you'll be paying for it!"

Again, this was probably one of the coolest old men Naruto would ever meet.

The Elder then turned and prepared to jump off of the roof. Before jumping off, he looked back. "Ready to come along? Or does this 'old fart' need to wait on you?"

"Pfft, no one waits on Uzumaki Naruto and he doesn't wait on anyone either, dattebayo! Except for friends…and ramen delivery….and other things…I wait on a lot of things."

"Hahaha! 'Dattebayo'!? What is that? Something the youngsters say these days? How adorable!"

"**Ugh, you're hopeless. Two years with normal responsibilities and trying to be just the tiniest bit more serious and you're still saying that!"**

"Shut up! I'm completely responsible and badass, not adorable! If anything, I'm ruggedly handsome!"

And so Naruto followed after the Elder as the man jumped of the edge of the building and along the roofs others. He purposefully stayed in sight and went at a speed that Naruto could follow, but it definitely pushed Naruto to do his best.

Naruto felt the thrill of the challenge and relished in it.

* * *

**Well, there you are. First chapter, complete!  
**

**We have a Naruto who has gotten over the depression of being stuck in a world that's extremely different from his own without interacting with any of the martial arts underworld until today. He's used his desire to not be weak as a means to escape his depression and now wants to test his limits and get stronger so he can use what he has to make the world a better place. He's not sure yet if it'll be as a mercenary or as a part of a legal team of enforcers or peacekeepers, but he wants to do something. Deep inside at the moment though, he wants to return to Konoha and his friends since he hasn't made any attachments here yet due to his own personal problems.  
**

**Now, for pairings, I will tell you now that it will not be Miu. I cannot in good faith tear her away from Kenichi, nor do I want to because honestly, it's good for the plot and it's good for the characters. Plus, they look to much alike for me to really roll with it in my mind. I'll try my hand at letting Naruto run willy nilly and get together with a few women who will force him into situations where a romantic response is needed or there'll awkwardness galore for everyone. AKA, what I'm going to call the Kenchi618 approach because damn that man does his work well.  
**

**Hope you enjoyed this and hope you'll be waiting for the next chapter. **

**Later all yall!**


	2. Meeting The Strongest and Strangest

**Hello all again! **

**I'm happy to see that this has been so well received so far. It really helped me get through writing this chapter! Honestly, this chapter would mark off what I'm going to call the end of the exposition of the story and thus was a bit boring to write besides letting the dialogue flow. I have a habit of making these introductions a bit long compared to other writers on this site, but I like to tell myself that it builds a solid foundation for those new to the series (in the plural in this case). So, be forewarned that while this is a more tedious chapter to read through, I can finally get to actual action starting now. That's the good thing about a series like History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi or Naruto; most chapters of either series have combat in them and thus I can move onto quickly here.  
**

**If that doesn't satisfy you, look at this this way: I literally just finished up patching through the exposition/introduction of A Sage in Fiore by chapter six. The ones reading this lucked out considering I like to make each chapter around 10,000 words. That's 60,000 words for my other story to get out of this stage!**

**I'll probably end up with epic-ly long stories on this site if I keep at it. **

**Anyway, I thought I'd take the time to comb through some reviews here as well so you guys know that I do read through them and I do appreciate you taking the time to write one:  
**

**reallyfreakingnerdy: Hmm, I'm not sure if Naruto will get with Freya to be honest. I don't want to be one of those writers that has Naruto go through extensive amounts of girls just because it's really not realistic so available spaces are limited and I don't know if their personalities will mesh well in a romantic way. But, I'm open to the possibility and I won't really know until I write some scenes with them. Romance will take time here so don't expect an answer straight way on this particular topic. **

**StrikeExia: Actually, Naruto is an outright dou-type martial artist naturally. While I would say he has the potential for sei, I don't know if that will be explored or not. Even if it is, he'll still be specializing in dou regardless. No mixing of the two ki's here. Sorry, but having the Kyubi is enough I think. **

**simple405: Thank you so much for the compliment! I was actually a bit afraid that I let my interpretation of Naruto get too muddled up in getting used to the modern times and the new culture. **

**bb: I completely understand where you're coming from and I've thought through that line of reasoning. Naruto won't be sitting on the sidelines while Kenichi faces off against Ragnarok, but neither will he be hogging all of the enemies. I think I've thought of a balanced approach and don't believe anyone else has used it either. I hope that my vague response puts you at ease though!**

**I'll talk a bit more at the end of the chapter. So, enjoy chapter two for now! **

* * *

"Ha! What was that last jump, Naru-chan!?" the Elder called out as he seemingly ungracefully dropped down from the roof of the last building they had jumped onto. Naruto's expectation of the landing took a turn though when the Elder didn't even kick up a single speck of dust into the air let alone make a crater like Naruto thought he would.

'I call bullshit on that. It's not natural that someone as big and conspicuous as that Old Fart wouldn't make a sound or make something jump from landing at that height.'

"**Just because you're that unskilled doesn't mean he is. Super-Meatbag is worth nigh on infinite amounts of you…for now at least."**

'Not sure if you're trying to make a joke about me using the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** or if that was a compliment.'

"**Why can't it be both? We've finally met someone that is literally so beyond your level that they could sneeze at you and you might blow up. As my container and because you're that much of a muscle head, you will undoubtedly try to reach his level. I wasn't lying when I said it would take years, but they're years that you do have. Have faith, Brat; I believe that you too can become a Super-Meatbag."**

'That was so inspirational that I think I might cry. My eyes are tearing up; can you feel it? Oh wait, that's from the load of shit you just put in front of my face.'

"**I'll have you know that shit is a very real thing. Just because it smells rancid doesn't make it any less there and in front of your face."**

'Ugh, fine.'

"What do you mean 'what was that last jump'!? I had to catch up to you and had to skip that last building to do that, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled as his attention turned back to the Elder and away from the Kyubi and their lightening quick conversation. Hey, it pays sometimes to be able to have conversations at the speed of thought. Though extended conversation is a problem since it leaves you standing or sitting there with a blank look on your face.

People start to think you're a zombie and that the zombie apocalypse is starting. Come to think of it, the Kyubi said there was a…what do they call it…an "anime" about that. Did it watch it? Bah, Naruto couldn't remember since he was probably busy with trying to understand calculus.

"You took a shortcut! I thought you were practicing control and you just decided to ignore it on that last jump!" the Elder shouted over to Naruto who was still on the roof of the small building. "I'll have to have someone teach you patience and focus!"

Naruto answered with a mature and carefully measured response.

He stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at the Elder.

Uzumaki Naruto didn't need patience when he could get results and had plenty of focus…when he wasn't forcing his way through uphill battles against both people and difficult goals. Difficult goals like trying to get better control over his chakra or ki or whatever he was going to be calling it now.

"That's right, brush it off now, Naru-chan! You won't get away with it later! We're very dedicated here at Ryōzanpaku! Now, get down here!"

Naruto shrugged and dropped down from the roof, bending his knees slightly to absorb the shock of landing and channeling more power into his legs so that they could take the impact with minimal discomfort. He could probably get away with not using any chakra/ki, but this was good practice and he really should get into the habit of being more cautious.

Landing not nearly as silently or inconspicuously as the Elder was a bit of a blow to his pride as a former shinobi, but Naruto supposed that man was a "Super-Meatbag" and that it was a good excuse. Still, it would give him another goal to reach. Naruto then looked at the sight in front of him.

Standing tall and worn was a large wooden gate connected to tall walls that obscured whatever was happening inside. Though the sun was setting now, Naruto could clearly see the worn materials the walls were made of and the imposing feeling they gave off. The style of the architecture was the classical Japanese that Naruto himself was familiar with back in Konoha. It reminded him a bit of the clan compounds that the well-off shinobi clans had. It wasn't as pristine as the Hyūga Compound exterior or elaborate as the Uchiha Compound exterior, but Naruto appreciated this a bit more. It suggested the rough life of someone who constantly worked at pushing their limits through effort and being content with that.

Too bad Naruto was completely off-base with his musings and the reason for the worn-down appearance was because Ryōzanpaku was _always _having financial trouble.

The Elder followed by Naruto approached the wooden gate and Naruto took the chance to notice the think planks of wood that were connected by bolted iron. It looked incredibly heavy and Naruto wondered if he could even open the thing.

That would be put to the test now.

"Oh, Naru-chan. I think my bones are too achy to open the door by myself. Would you be a good lad and open the door?" The mischievous grin and the tone of voice the Elder used suggested that the old man was lying through his teeth and he knew it wasn't being bought.

Still, Naruto wasn't one to ignore a challenge without trying and if he succeeded, the look on the Old Fart's face might be worth the effort.

"Yosh!" Naruto shouted as he took a step forward and put his hands on the doors. Bending his legs and getting ready to dig his white and blue trainers into the ground, Naruto decided to get a feel for the weight of the doors first and pushed lightly.

Not a single centimeter of movement from the doors.

'Well, shit. I expected them to be heavy, but not this heavy.'

"**Don't bother testing the waters here, Brat. Push."**

That last word from the Kyubi was forceful and filled with command. Naruto would humor the fox and listen since he was going to that anyway. He didn't need the fox to tell him something like that.

Twisting his feet as he pushed this time, he tried to get better leverage and filled his arms with power to push as hard as he could. The power burned in his veins and his muscles strained against themselves, the door, and Naruto's own power. Even to this day, Naruto's body couldn't handle the full influx of his strength for long. His body was young, powerful, and strong, but Naruto didn't know much about conditioning besides just pushing himself in whatever exercises he did. Back in the Elemental Nations, it didn't matter, but here his power was fundamentally different it seemed.

However, his effort wasn't for nothing. The doors creaked this time and slowly, like a honey dripping down to the ground, they moved.

Naruto felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of his head as he stopped pushing because the effort was becoming too much. He would be able to keep going within a minute or two after his body cooled down. Honestly, sometimes he felt like an engine. Use too much fuel too quickly and he starts to overheat. It happened faster when he was angry too or at least feeling strongly about something. Without anyone to tell him what was happening or to help him in case something did happen, Naruto would always stop before he reached or crossed some unknown threshold.

Still, he had opened enough of the door for himself to get through at least. It would take a few more tries to get it open enough for the Elder to get through though.

"Well, you did better than I expected. You've got quite the strength in your arms there, Naru-chan," the Elder stated as he took a step now before raising a hand. He then took his middle finger and thumb, put the tip of one to the other and flicked the door on the right.

It swung with a thud and hit the wall, but not with enough force to cause any damage. Still, Naruto could understand where the wear on the wall came from if the people who lived here were all capable of such feats. The Elder repeated his action on the left side and the results were the same.

"Tch, achy bones my ass. Do you even feel your age, crafty Old Fart?" Naruto questioned, deciding to call out the Elder on his request to open the doors now.

"Why of course I feel my age, Naru-chan. I settled down here, didn't I?"

"You settled down in a dojo…where fighting happens... You haven't settled down at all, have you?"

"A tree settles down where its roots are, Naru-chan." Oh boy, here comes the wizened wisdom of the experienced. Or people who've read too many fortune cookies and read too much manga.

"The only thing you have in common with a tree is your age, Old Fart," Naruto countered as he followed the Elder once more as the man crossed the threshold of the gate. The last thing he noticed was the plaque that held the name of the dojo.

He really felt like he should have some sort of significant thought or feeling about that.

Eh, whatever. Another day in the life of Uzumaki Naruto. If he could live as a ninja with what people here would call magic or superpowers, travel through the void to a different universe/world/reality, and make something of a new life in what amounted to a foreign culture and way of life then nothing here could surprise him.

He sincerely hoped he wouldn't be eating those words.

As they walked in, Naruto took the opportunity to look around. The grounds were taken care of quite well, something Naruto appreciated with the constant presence of urbanization. This was more in tune with nature. Stepping stones marked a path to two buildings on either of his sides. On the left, there was what Naruto would call a traditional dojo. It was on a raised platform so that one could meditate outside or just sit down and enjoy watching a spar on the grounds. The building itself elongated into a rectangle shape and built quite well despite its condition. On the right was what Naruto assumed was a traditional home built in much the same style as the dojo, gate, and walls outside. It had two floors as opposed to the single floor of the dojo. Naruto thought it looked quite homey and reminded him of his old apartment in Konoha in a way. It looked kind of beat up, but Naruto could feel the warmth of what he would call a "family" from it.

Behind the home-like building though, there was another building that seemed somewhat out of place. It was connected to the home through a hallway built in the traditional Japanese style much like everything else so far, but the building it was connected to looked like a beaten down apartment complex. Actually, not even an apartment complex, but a small motel. It was modern if built out of traditional materials. Naruto also doubted that it was built using modern techniques so that left the question of who built it since he was sure any contractor wouldn't make a building this way unless paid obnoxious amounts of money to go through the effort.

Oh well. If he could get over airplanes, he could get over this. The idea of a flying, metal compartment filled with people just seemed like a death trap to him and this was nowhere near as ludicrous as that to him.

The grounds themselves were vast though. Bushes, shrubs and trees littered the clearing and there was even a forest in the back. Or at least a small wooded area.

Oh yea, Naruto liked this place just on principle.

"Welcome to Ryōzanpaku, Naru-chan." The Elder had a smile on his face as he observed Naruto looking over the grounds with an awed expression that shifted to a pleased nostalgia. The boy obviously liked what he had seen so far. That was good; most children these days didn't appreciate the way the buildings and grounds looked like for whatever reason. It was old, it didn't look like they had anything interesting, it was beaten down, take your pick.

"Do you all really live here? It's like looking at a different world when I think about what's just outside." Naruto asked, still a bit awed. Sure, it was a dumb question, but we all ask dumb questions when we're dumbfounded.

"Of course everyone lives here," the Elder chuckled. "Why don't we go meet everyone? Miu is sure to be home by now and preparing dinner. Why don't we eat before a short tour? You could go home and talk over joining with your parents."

"I don't have parents. I'm a ward of the state and live alone."

The response was delivered in a matter of fact manner. There was no sorrow or real negativity in it, just Naruto informing someone of a fact. He had long since gotten used to living alone and not having any blood-relatives and the hurt of it was muted by now. Naruto didn't expect pity and didn't want any; he had done well for himself in his opinion and while he would like to have someone to come home to, Naruto couldn't really do anything about that yet.

Well, he could, but that wouldn't be very responsible of him and even he knew that. Better to wait before trying to make babies for a steady income and all that grown-up stuff. It also helped there weren't any girls he was particularly interested in yet.

"I see. Well, a home cooked meal will do you some good then. I remember when I was your age that I couldn't cook anything decent to save my life. Still can't as a matter of fact!"

Kami, the Old Fart didn't know the meaning of awkward moments. Anything that would cause one for a normal conversation just bounced off the constant aura of bad ass-ness he gave off.

Male role model acquired.

Naruto could only imagine what would have happened if he spent any significant amount of time with Jiraiya and his ero-ways.

* * *

"Do any of you know where Grandfather went?" Miu asked, wearing her purple bodysuit and an apron. The suit itself was what she usually wore around the house since it allowed her to use her body's flexibility without any trouble and was quite durable by common standards. Though it also highlighted every curve of her body and her figure. She had a strange sense of shame; as long as you didn't draw attention to it, she didn't really care or maybe didn't think of it. But, the moment you started to ogle her…well, you were labeled as a pervert and the enemy of woman until you apologized. Luckily she wasn't very vengeful or one to hold grudges.

The continued existence of a friendly relationship with Kensei Ma, Master of all Forms of Chinese Kenpo was evidence of that.

"The Old Man went out earlier for a walk. Something about looking for an interesting brat that Akisame saw earlier." The response came from a man that ninety-percent of the population of the planet would probably avoid on the principle that he looked like he would kill them. He was tall, muscular, and dressed to emphasize intimidation though he just thought it looked cool. The man wore a brown leather jacket with no shirt to display his extremely muscular physique with blue jeans along with bandages wrapped around his forearms. The most distinguishing and threatening thing about him though was his face. Short black hair with a single long strand that hung over his face that was set in a scowl usually. A horizontal scar ran across his nose to complete the image.

"Hmm, Akisame found someone interesting? That's a bit rare. Must be an impressive child to catch his eye," a small man threw in. He was in his middle ages, probably in the low forties, but that just belied his true nature. He wore typical Chinese clothing for a martial artist: a green top fell down his front and back while leaving room for his legs to move unimpeded along with black pants that those who practice kung-fu usually wore. He wore a hat to cover his balding head, though he still have dark brown hair on his sides and back. And a mustache, can't forget the mustache.

The man who was the topic of the conversation then entered the room. This was the man who had seen Naruto in the morning, Koetsuji Akisame. "Hmm, yes. He was a very interesting young man. I don't believe he has a sensei either as I haven't heard of any activity from a master here. To train oneself on their own requires dedication despite having no one to guide them. Though he did seem a bit wild. You would most likely get along well with him, Sakaki."

The dangerous looking male, now identified as Sakaki, snorted. "Bah, I don't deal with brats. I don't even take on disciples, that's my motto."

"He could be the first you know. I wonder if he'll drop by. It would be nice to see a young man with drive around here. I'm sure Miu would like a friend," the small man commented as he looked through a magazine. Said magazine was filled…swimsuit models.

"Kensei-san! That's inappropriate to look at here! We're about to have dinner!" Miu cried out. Really, the Chinese man was a pervert of the highest order.

"You really should put it away, Kensei. The Elder is on his way and someone's with him," Akisame suggested as he turned towards the sliding door. Footsteps could now be heard along with voices. One was definitely the Elder and the other was a young man.

"I'm just saying, I call bull on you _not _enjoying bossing me around. You're not fooling me with that 'innocent grandpa' face." A pause. "Don't start innocently pointing at yourself! Yes, I mean you, dattebayo!"

"There's that 'dattebayo again. You're such an excitable child, Naru-chan. I hope you won't be like me when you gain a few more years. There are dojos out there that are _still_ doing repairs from my challenges!" boasted the voice of the Elder.

"Pfft, that they're still doing repairs just means you didn't do enough damage to make them _move_. Get on my level, Old Fart."

"If I 'get on your level', I'd have to bend down and my old bones might not be able to take something like that, Naru-chan. So cruel to a kind, old man."

"'Kind, old man' that could beat my ass to Sunday, you mean," Naruto muttered though everyone could hear him as the door slid open.

The Elder clapped a hand on Naruto's back in good humor though it made him stumble into room and fall over. "Oh to be young and full of confidence. I'd beat you further than into Sunday, Naru-chan." There was that laugh again. You really couldn't just get mad or stay mad at this man.

"Welcome, Grandfather," Miu cheerfully said before looking over the young man that had entered with her grandfather. As he got off of the ground, she recognized him from her homeroom class.

He had bright, blond hair similar to her own and her grandfather's in his youth along with vibrant blue eyes. In short, he could have passed off as a relative if it wasn't for a few factors. The first was that he was a little short for his age, but not stocky at all. He would probably grow a bit more to even out. The next was his skin tone; the boy was remarkably tan for the eastern world. In fact, his feature in general seemed more western than Asian and he could've been a foreigner if it was for the fact that his Japanese was impeccable. He also had three whisker-like marks on either side of his cheeks that gave him a more feral appearance. Miu wondered if they were perhaps tattoos.

Patting himself and brushing imaginary dust (Miu worked hard to make sure that the property was clean, damn it), her blond classmate realized he was the subject of attention for everyone in the room.

"Yo. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. How you doin?"

He just been in the presence of the Elder for some time and he hadn't be reduced into a smear on the ground yet. This left him some confidence to work with and that meant nonchalant introductions to all the freakishly strong people in front of him. Miu was there and Naruto knew she was stronger than him, but still, he wouldn't mind a spar. The other three though…maybe if he could talk them into binding their arms, legs, and jaws while they were punch drunk he would consent to a spar. That didn't even count the other presence he felt in the building or property. Bless the fox for his ability to sense malicious intent and being in a kind enough mood to warn him.

After all, everyone gave off malicious intent to some extent naturally and these people could crush Naruto. This was in the interest of their continued existence and was not the time for the Kyubi to mess with him.

Miu was the first to recover. "Ah, welcome, Naruto-san". Aw, she used his first name already. Either she was just one of those warm and kind-hearted people or she was a direct person. Either way, Naruto could appreciate that. "You might not remember, but I transferred into your class toady. My name is Fūrinji Miu." She gave a short bow.

"**I'm positive everyone remembers her when they see her,"** the fox snickered in his mind.

"Yea, nice to meet you too." Naruto replied with a cheerful wave of his hand. Still not going to follow proper courtesy. Too stuffy.

"Kind of a runt, isn't he?" Sakaki questioned as he took a drink from a bottle of beer.

"Come on now, Sakaki. I'm sure you were a runt once too." Kensei said, still looking at his magazine.

Naruto twitched. "Oi! I'm not a runt, dattebayo! Come and say it to my face!"

Opps, might've come out a bit too strong there.

A pause in the room. Naruto was positive he was about to get crushed. The man, Sakaki was glaring at Naruto. The other was observing him with a tilted head. The final man who had yet to say anything was calmly observing. Miu just seemed surprised by his outburst while the Elder was trying to hold back a laugh by burying his mouth into his hand.

"What did you just say?" Sakaki questioned as he rose from his relaxed position. He took a step towards Naruto.

A gulp came from the boy.

"I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that."

Another step.

Naruto contemplated running.

Sakaki was now right in front of the young man and reached a hand out…

'…I realize that lots of people say they regret nothing when they die. For some reason, I can't believe that…I REGRET A LOT OF THINGS!'

The Kyubi kept silent surprisingly.

Naruto closed his eyes and expected to feel his head be crushed before passing on…

…only to have a hand be put on his shoulder.

"GUAHAHAHA! 'Dattebayo'!? What does that even mean!?" the giant of a man began to break down laughing as he began to smack Naruto's shoulder. "But, you got guts, kid! I might just like you…when you can start holding your liquor."

These changes in the tension of the room and of his day in general were really starting to get to Naruto. It was so chaotic…kind of like being back in Konoha.

Which is probably why he snapped right back to himself.

"I could drink you under the table, Scar Head." That boast was probably something he could make good on too. His metabolism and bodily processes were insane to say the least. Plus, he was sure he could rope the Kyubi into helping. The fox liked to rub it into Naruto's face that humans were far beneath it and that as its vessel, his actions reflected the fox's own to a reasonable extent.

"Aren't you a little young, kid?" Sakaki asked, raising an eyebrow. Kami, even that looked threatening, but Naruto was beginning to see an amused glint in the man's eyes.

"Old enough to live on my own and pay bills, old enough to drink and have sex." Naruto heard that saying on the internet once and it bared a remarkable resemblance to something he heard once back in Konoha: Old enough to kill, old enough to get piss drunk and fuck till you drop.

He doubted saying that here would be acceptable…probably. This group seemed to be about as sane as shinobi would be so it could go either way.

Sakaki gaped for a moment before a fierce grin spread across his face. "Hehe, wait here for a minute, kid." He turned to leave while hiding a motion of scratching under his nose. Maybe Kensei had a point and he would get along with the kid after all. Besides, the kid had a point with what he said. If you paid bills and took care of yourself, you were entitled to a little leeway.

Kensei simply got a lecherous grin on his face. "I liked that last part. Can we keep him? I could show the boy all the right ways to spy on-I mean woo a woman if he's so grown up."

Miu simply turned red as a tomato while the Elder seemed to stopping himself from giving an approving nod.

Really, Naruto just plain out screamed some kind of familial relation to him. Kid was too much like him at that age.

"I don't think you two should be encouraging such bad habits." The third man in the room, Akisame, made his opinion known. "Especially you, Sakaki. Don't you dare get the boy a drink. You're both giving him the wrong impression of our household and dojo here.

"For the record, I think you're giving me the right impression." Naruto threw in, but shrunk when Akisame turned to stare at him.

"When a seed is growing and maturing, one must take care to not rush its growth. All things in good time, Naruto-kun." He then paused. "Also, you seem to be well off physically and I wouldn't want to jeopardize that by introducing you to the world of liquors so soon."

Again with the first name thing. It's really a breath of fresh air.

The Elder then clapped his hands. "That's enough now. We should eat dinner before Miu's hard work gets cold. Where are Shigure and Apachai? We should all introduce ourselves to Naru-chan and get to know him a bit. After all, he might be joining as a student."

The only one in the group that reacted to that revelation was Miu, though she recovered fairly quickly. "Ah, Apachai-san should be here soon and Shigure-san is out right now. She wanted to check up on something, but said she'd be back tomorrow."

"Hm, what a shame. Naru-chan was looking for help on weapons especially," the Elder mused. "Still, I'm sure that the rest of us can give him a good idea what to expect here."

"Are we talking about taking the kid on as a disciple? You know I don't take on any…though if the kid does show he can out-drink me I might make an exception." Sakaki said with a smirk.

"Hmm. Well, Naru-chan isn't really looking to picking up a style. Or at least, not yet. We might be able to convince him." Here the Elder gave Naruto a look over, musing on something unknown. "Yes, we could do something for him if ever changes his mind. Still, I'm sure there's something we could all teach him. A few conceptual techniques when he's ready."

"Uh, do I get a say in any of this?" Naruto questioned.

"You lost your say in this when you so happily followed me," the Elder smiled.

…Naruto couldn't honestly refute that since he was most definitely going to join. He had already made up his mind when he entered the premise and felt the presence of all the martial artists here. He would learn whatever they threw at him if he could fit it into the way he currently fought. Another style might come later as Naruto had heard of some of the jōnin of Konoha knowing multiple styles to accommodate different situations or at least knowing various techniques to be versatile.

Still, he wasn't going to show how accepting of this he was. So, he took a stand and crossed his arms with a huff.

It came out as more of a pout though. A very manly pout to be sure at least.

Any further conversation stopped as the door opened once more to reveal yet another giant of a man. Naruto was really beginning to think that there was some kind magic around that increased the chances of the males here being giants. Only the Chinese man was the exception right now and three times out of four was fair enough for Naruto to stick to that theory.

This new giant had tanned skin even darker than Naruto and silver hair. Naruto immediately pegged the man as a foreigner because of it. He did some friendly though as despite his frame and height, the man gave off a peaceful feeling and had a small smile on his face. His attire was suited to fighting though Naruto didn't know what style he practiced. He wore a yellow tank top with red shorts and a piece of red cloth was tied around his forehead along with bandages covering his hands and feet. As he entered the room, he closed his eyes and gave a full smile.

"Apa! Apachai is here now!"

"Take a seat, Apachai-san. We were waiting for you," Miu said as she took a seat at the table in the center of the room. "You too, Grandfather, Naruto-san."

The three men each took a seat around the table as Miu put an extra plate in front of Naruto with a warm smile.

"Now then, itadakimasu!" Miu said as she was the one who cooked the meal and would be the one to say the traditional phrase first.

"Itadakimasu," the rest of the group said. The Elder, Sakaki, and Naruto were the loudest as they began to fill up their plates. In addition to the expected white rice, there was yakizakana (grilled fish), hiyayakko (fresh, chilled tofu with ginger, green onions, and soy sauce), miso soup, and tsukemono (Japanese style pickles).

And to think Naruto's plans for dinner today were going to consist of going to the convenience store and pick up a pre-made dinner.

"I have some green tea too if anyone wants some," Miu cheerfully stated as everyone began tearing through her cooking. Well, Apachai, Sakaki, and Naruto were tearing through it. The others had the tiniest bit more class and patience it seems.

"Slow down you three, there's plenty of time. We also have to introduce ourselves to Naru-chan since I'm sure he's curious by now," the Elder chided the duo of adults and one teen.

Too bad Naruto wasn't really that curious at the moment with home-cooking in front of him. Still, he'd play along and gave a nod after a bite of the yakizakana and rice.

"Since we're all eating, you'll have to take our word for now on what style we each use and how skilled we are-

"**Pfft, sure. As if a meatbag's word means much. It's not even necessary since we can literally feel how strong they are."**

"So, we'll start with Sakaki-kun here. You two seem to get along well already," the Elder finished.

Sakaki grunted though one could tell it with good humor despite the rough gesture.

"I'm Shio Sakaki, master of all karate styles. They call me the Hundredth Degree Street Brawler." Well, the title fit him. He really did look like a street brawler. Still, Naruto thought he looked perfectly awesome and seemed like a nice person despite his looks and abrasiveness.

"Apa! Apachai is Apachai Hopachai! Use muay thai! Nice to meet, new friend, apa!" the silver haired man said as he introduced himself. He seemed to have a bit of trouble with the language, but that was fine since Naruto could still understand him. He was trying and that counted for everything in Naruto's mind.

"**This one is interesting…Getting a closer read on him, I can barely feel any hatred. I think this one might be the closest thing there can be to a saint." **The Kyubi's comment shocked Naruto for a moment, but he decided he'd think about it later.

"I actually saw you this morning, but didn't have a chance to introduce myself. I am Kōetsuji Akisame and I am an accomplished user of Jujutsu in all of its forms. It's a pleasure to properly meet you, Naruto-kun," the last man said as he gave a brief inclination of his head.

"Ah, my turn. My name is Ma Kensei, Master of all Chinese Kenpo; although I prefer the softer fist styles. Though I like to think I'm an aspiring student on looking at the female form as well," a slight grin followed the introduction of the smallest man of the group. Naruto had a feeling that this man and Jiraiya would get along just fine. And cause a riot of righteous female fury aimed at them.

Naruto gave all of them a grin and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and excitement. He had already met Kenichi earlier and began a fledgling friendship with the boy and now found a group of extremely strong fighters. He briefly wondered, if the playing field was even, could these people beat some of the stronger people of his world. It would be something interesting to see or find out and he might be able to use himself as a reprehensive of his world to spar with them when he got stronger.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Miu-chan's new classmate and potential student here I guess. I don't really use a style besides trying to see what works in a fight and staying on my toes. I haven't lost a fight here yet though, even if it's against punks who don't know what they're really doing."

"Good work there, Kid! Even if it's against those weaker than you, a fight is a fight and good experience for you." Sakaki praised as he took another drink from his bottle.

"Eh, I guess. Some of the fights that were against more than three I won just because they couldn't keep me down," Naruto stated, trying to be honest about his skillset since these people would need to know what he could do and not what he bragged about.

"That's fine in a way. Being able to show endurance in a fight shows your own spirit and the foundations of your body," Akisame stated elegantly. Naruto was beginning to sense a pattern with Akisame and the man giving out bits of wisdom.

"Apa, Naruto did good. Not lose fights means Naruto train good." Apachai said as he reached out to grasp the blond boy's shoulder. The man was really friendly and seemed to be the type to take care of children or those younger than him in general. "Naruto should be thankful to sensei."

"Ah, the boy doesn't have a sensei. He's self-taught, or at least for the most part he is. Someone must have shown him the basics, but Naru-chan's trying hard all by himself!" the Elder praised.

"No sensei, apa!? Not worry, Naruto! Apachai will teach Naruto to do good." That…actually was very heart-warming. Not many people in Naruto's life offered help so quickly and didn't ask for anything in return.

"Hmm, I thought so. You must be very dedicated, Naruto-kun." Akisame said as he took another bite out of a tsukemono.

"That's a really nice way of putting it, hehe. People usually say I'm just too stubborn to stop and too much of a knucklehead to know when to stop. I just didn't like being weak when I can do something about it. Gotta be strong to do something good out there, ya know?" Naruto said a red face. He really wasn't used to this much positive attention at once and the compliments really weren't helping. It didn't help that the last time he got any attention was long ago because of his lack of connections here.

Still, he was working on that now.

"Got that right, Kid. It would hurt your pride as a man if you tried to do anything less."

There was Sakaki again.

"Hmm, that still counts as persistence though. You're pretty hard-working and seem to have some talent if you've had this much success. If you're lucky, that success will rub off on your love life. I'm rooting for you, Naruto-kun," Kensei said as he took a sip of tea.

"What are you interested in then, Naruto-san?" Miu asked, trying to bond with her new classmate. If he did join the dojo then there was also the possibility of becoming friends with him. Come to think of it, she also needed to return that "How To…" book to that boy she met this morning. That could be a good chance to make another friend especially since the title of said book was "How To Make Friends".

"Well, I need help with a bit of everything really, but I need help with weapons the most. I can throw shuriken and kunai pretty well, but not that many. I'm getting better with using a kunai up close, but what I'm focusing on now is using a sword. There are plenty of things around a fight usually that can be used like one and I'm not going to ignore any advantage I can get."

"Shigure-san is who you would want to learn under then. She's a master in using all kinds of weapons, but she's best with using a sword. A katana more specifically."

"Yea, Shigure's pretty good with a katana. She scares the hell outta me though when she starts talking in her sleep," Sakaki said with a shiver.

Kensei, however, gave a lecherous grin at Naruto's answer. "I think I'm a little jealous of Naruto-kun then if he does start training here with Shigure. She's a real beauty you know. Can a teenaged boy like you handle all those hormones bubbling in you?"

Now that was just unfair to mention.

For Kensei, that is.

Naruto had to deal with numerous beautiful women in his time as a shinobi and even traveled with Jiraiya. It might not have been from direct experience, but Naruto liked to think he had some resistance to the fairer sex and wouldn't turn into a raging pervert.

He had seen what that did to Kakashi-Sensei and the Ero-Sennin. That road was not to be traveled.

"I'll be fine. I'm not a pervert, you know." Naruto punctuated that with a meaningful glare at the magazine by Ma's side. "Are you sure we're not talking about yourself?"

Ma put his hands up, chopsticks in hand. "Oh, it looks like I've been caught by our newest, cute, potential student."

"…That's a really long title. Change it." Naruto retorted with an even voice. He would not be called that or any variation of that.

He foresaw himself being frustrated in the future.

"Now, now, Kensei. You shouldn't pick on our new, cute student," the Elder said with a smirk.

"I haven't even said I would join yet!"

"Oh, you are."

"…Shut up, Old Fart."

"**I feel as if you're being outclassed in strength and wit right now. The shame is great…for you, at least. I'm enjoying this."**

"Should we settle the details now then?" Akisame asked as he set his chopsticks on his rice bowl, showing he was finished with the meal. The others repeated his actions, though before Naruto could respond he was beaten to the punch.

"No, we should let Naru-chan go home and sleep for the night. We shouldn't talk business right after a meal with our unofficial student. We'll make it official tomorrow." The Elder then made a fist and his eyes seemed to start to glow. "AND THEN WE BEGIN THE ASSESSMENT OF OUR CUTE, LITTLE, _OFFICIAL_ STUDENT!"

…

'I'm scared.'

"**What happened to him being the 'coolest old man ever'?"**

'He still he is. He just scares me now too.'

"**Good. I like him"**

'Dick.'

"**Cowardly bitch."**

"Miu, why don't you go with Naruto-kun to the door and see him out? You two should get to know each other since you'll be seeing much of the other," Akisame suggested.

"Sure. Come on, Naruto-san." Miu said as she stood up and Naruto mimicked her.

"Thanks for having me tonight. It's been a really long time since I've sat down to eat with anyone else, hehe." Another scratch behind the head, a smile, and a light bow to express how thankful he was, Naruto went towards the door with Miu in front and left the room.

"What a nice youngster. He really reminds me of myself at that age, you know," the Elder said with a smile, running a hand through his beard.

"Heh, he's got guts and a mouth on him. I hope to have that drink with him soon though." Sakaki finished his bottle of beer and set it down, a light grin on his face. "I think I might give him a tip or two if he asks real nice," he laughed out.

"You shouldn't encourage those behaviors in a student, Sakaki. Naruto-kun seems to be a dedicated young man and has a good heart. Though I'm sure that he has his own sorrows. One does not embark on this path alone and come so far without reason," Akisame offered after a sip of tea. "Hmm, I believe I need another cup of tea."

"I think he's fine the way he is. We shouldn't try changing the way a student acts, especially if he's a prospective disciple. And I'm sure that he'll open up to us in time; he seems like a cheerful type of person." It might have been easier to take Kensei's opinion seriously if he wasn't looking through his magazine again.

"Apachai thinks that Naruto is a good boy! Needs help to get better and be better for everyone. Apachai help with apapapapa!" Apachai emphasized his statement by beginning to rapidly punch the air in front of him at amazing speeds. The only way you'd know his arm was moving was because it was moving so quickly that it couldn't be seen.

"Hmm, we might need to rein in Apachai so he doesn't break Naruto-kun. He should practice holding back again."

They all nodded at Akisame's suggestion.

* * *

"I like them." Naruto declared to Miu as they walked down the hall towards the door that lead to the grounds outside. "They remind me of how the people I used to hang around with acted."

Eccentric to all the circles of hell and most likely missing all kinds of common sense.

Miu seemed to happily accept that declaration. She had been worried at how any friends she made would react to meeting her hectic family. Though it probably helped that Naruto was a martial artist, or more accurately a fighter as it currently stood. She would have to wait until tomorrow to see how he fought. Though he did have that walk to him that spoke of trained combat.

"They seem to like you too. Grandfather never brings anyone home and Sakaki-san is usually a lot more difficult to deal with. You'll fit right in, I think."

"I hope so. I haven't met anyone that I would call a 'fighter' or a 'martial artist' like you all seem to. So, finding a whole group of people stronger than me is just great, dattebayo!" Naruto thrust a fist into the air then brought it down and pulled it back so that it would be facing Miu. "I wanna have a spar against you too. I'm pretty sure that you would beat my ass, but it'll be great to know that I can push my limits." He then extended the fist so that she would bump it.

However, Miu seemed to be confused by his action. "I'd love to have a spar against you, but what are you doing that for?"

Naruto chuckled.

"You're supposed to bump your fist against mine. It's something that friends do. I mean, we're gonna be spending a lot of time together in class and here. So, I think we should be friends. If you want to, I mean."

In context, this would be a heart-warming moment. A boy who had struggled for every friend in his life until just recently and a girl who had never had a real friend her age due to moving around so much and her own skills and appearance. Really, it was kind of fitting for them to become friends.

"Ah, right then." Miu said with a heart-felt smile. She brought her own fist back and lightly tapped it against Naruto's as they neared the gates of Ryōzanpaku. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Naruto-san." She then pushed against the gates and they opened with some resistance.

Naruto gaped for a moment before nodding. "Yea, see you tomorrow, Miu-chan. I'll find you during lunch…" He left before he could see the victorious smile on the blonde's face at being addressed by her new friend.

He really didn't know how to feel about asking for a spar from a girl that could open those gates by herself with only a moderate amount of effort.

* * *

Naruto decided that he needed to sleep for the night after eating that much food and going through all the surprises of the day. Training now just wouldn't be his focus and that wasn't even counting about wondering what his 'assessment' for tomorrow would be. He opened a door on the highest floor of the apartment complex he lived with a keycard, marveling at how useful electronic locks were. His apartment was just as he had left it, undisturbed and Spartan-like.

The walls were a common cream color, standard for the complex, and contained meager furnishings. His kitchen was honestly the place he spoiled himself with various appliances to make his life easier and to cook food quickly. Or rather what he passed as food. A table at the center of the room with three chairs surrounding it so that he could eat, the same for company that never came. That would hopefully change. A small sofa and a reasonably sized TV sat at the end of the room with two doors on either side. One to a small bedroom and the other to the bathroom.

Naruto went towards the door on the left and entered his bedroom. He paused at the door to take off of the jacket of his uniform along with his pants. Unbuttoning the next few buttons of his white shirt, Naruto climbed onto this orange blanket-covered bed clad in only his toad themed boxers and a largely open shirt. Sleep is what he wanted right now.

"I think…tomorrow is going to be a good day."

…

"SEI! SA! SA! SEI! SEI! SA! HA!" the sounds of a shouting male with drums in the background, a guitar, and a flute playing woke Naruto up seemingly just as soon as he closed his eyes. Naruto blindly threw a hand out and tapped his black and orange digital, alarm clock.

'Damn, Miu-chan's cooking really knocks you out… I wonder if you can turn it into a weapon…'

"**Damn right, she could. I tried waking you up after a while. Let me put some emphasis on that. I. Tried. Whatever she did to make that meal, I, the great I, could not overcome it…." **The Kyubi paused.

"**Your metabolism is going to get a boost. I don't care how inefficient it'll make getting nutrition into you, but I will not be overcome by a school girl's cooking. I don't even understand how that blasted alarm clock woke you up."**

'It's better than you.'

"**Perhaps better at waking you from your coma, but that isn't a skill I need or want. With me, you wouldn't even be put into a coma in the first place."**

'Where were you last night then? Out on the town with a pair of girl foxes?'

"**I question how your comebacks are better in the morning and then get worse as the day goes on. Maybe I'm regenerating brain cells that you lose throughout the day when you sleep and then you go through them again during the day."**

'I lose brain cells from having to deal with your ego. Do you have any idea how hard it is to listen to you day in and out?'

"**Very easy, I imagine, actually. Maybe if I could at least have a reflection here, I could have decent conversations with someone that appreciates me."**

'…I don't even know if I need to point out that you just proved me right…'

Naruto ignored the exaggerated huff from the fox and checked the time. Six-thirty in the morning. Just what he expected. He then only shrugged out of his shirt from the past day and walked out into the main room of his apartment. There he stopped by the table and picked something up from underneath it.

It was his rock, Sakura, for his morning warm-up.

To this day, he still chuckled about the name.

Carefully setting it down next to him, Naruto got on his knees then on his stomach. There was plenty of room in between the table and sofa for Naruto to get his work done. Slowly, Naruto used a moderate amount of effort to get the rock onto his back and then put his arms up with his palms on the ground. Time for some push-ups and channeling some latent aggression at being smacked on the head by Sakura years ago.

Friend or not; payback given or not, that hurt and was annoying. Still, he didn't hold it against her really. It just fit the situation really.

"**Speak for yourself. I hold plenty against her and others." **

"Ten .You hold something against _everyone_.

"**Not true. I hold almost nothing against you now. I just outright don't like you."**

"Sixteen. That's a step above hate. We're making progress."

"**My version of not liking someone is to eat them."**

"Twenty-three. That's nothing new. I'll take what I can get."

"**Hmph, do so then."**

Naruto finished the warm-up within ten minutes. Good time considering he wasn't channeling any chakra/ki…oh to hell with it, he was just going to call it ki. Time to go native and all that.

"Phew. I need more work on using my strength without ki."

"**You're still growing, if just a bit. I wouldn't rush into anything that could mess you up like that. Give me wounds from a fight, I can heal them. But start throwing overly developed muscles for your age and all the problems that come with that? Have fun staying in bed while I sort out the shit you cause to yourself. I'll be sure to be slow about it."**

Naruto didn't say a word to that. If there was one thing he could count on the Kyubi to do it would be that the fox would never stop him from gaining strength unless there would be a serious detriment. Sure, it would threaten or make scathing remarks while warning him, but it wouldn't lie to him about it. Naruto wasn't even sure if the fox had ever lied to him. It had always been blunt and open about its intentions from the beginning. The mere fact that he wasn't being threatened with being taken over for that past year was surprising and made Naruto wonder what the Kyubi's intentions were now.

He didn't feel like asking. Verbal spars were preferable to how it was before.

"Alrigh then, let's get going I guess. It's a little early, but I think some practice with the shinai should be a good way to pass the time."

"**Oh joy. Back to conversations through your thoughts again. They echo in here, did you know that?"**

"I swear you make too many puns about my empty head…."

"…**By the Sage, you're right. Either you **_**do**_** have a brain in here or we're all going to die and be condemned to the void."**

"You done?"

"**For now. Get going, Brat. You might even be in for a surprise."**

"…What do you know?"

"**Oh, nothing. Nothing of any import. Just all the worthy things of the world. Nothing of anything important to you."**

"Fine! Be that way." Naruto threw his hands into the air despite not even being in front of the Kyubi. He needed a quick shower and something small to eat. Lunch should be interesting though. Meeting up with Kenichi would be a good idea too. The boy seemed to need friends just as much as he did and Miu would probably be happy about it too. Then there was his "assessment" today and maybe meeting a sensei to teach him to actually us a sword and perfect his technique with kunai and shuriken. Maybe even pick up a thing or two with using wires for actual attacks.

That last thought had nothing to do with the fact that Naruto wanted to think up new wire traps for his pranks. None at all, thank you very much.

The point was that there would be good things all around!

Naruto would wonder if that thought was ironic or prophetic later with what was to come in the near future.

* * *

**And it's done! Yes! **

**To be honest, I actually already have part of the next chapter written. I was originally going to post it along with this, but then decided I just wanted it out of the way. Expect the third chapter some time this week with how fired up I am about this story so far. **

**Now, I'd like to talk a bit more about pairings. Yes, I am looking at all of your suggestions as evidenced above when I explained the Freya situation. Naruto will most likely get intimate with four other characters give or take one. We're talking a minimum of three and a maximum of five. Will they all keep their feelings for Naruto as the story progresses or finishes? Probably not. I don't even know who the final pairing will be if there even will be one. This version of Naruto might decide to just keep up loose intimate relations just because he won't feel he should choose one over the others in the end or he might choose one girl above all others. I'm not one of those people who needs to have everything planned; I just let my characters have general goals and let them get there by themselves as I write. **

**Possibilites? Definitely not Miu as I've already mentioned. Though I will enjoy possibly seeing him play the "big brother" against Sho... Everyone else is pretty much fair game as long as I don't think they already had a strong bond to another character in canon or can't justify _not_ breaking said bond. I will give you all this though: At first Shigure just was not going to be an option. No way, no how. I even talked with Agurra of the Darkness about this the day I posted chapter one. Her age was one reason to be honest and I was a bit confused on how I'd have the two bond like that. Then I looked up her canon age while reading on the wiki. She's apparently 22 and Naruto's going on to be 16 here. Six year difference in age doesn't bother me too badly I guess and she really doesn't act her age either (rereading the manga, I came across the scene where she's playing with crayons and coloring book again). Plus, as you all know by now, she'll be teaching Naruto as his master while the other masters will mostly impart random concepts of their styles with the odd technique or two. Master-student taboo shall be epic (if I do go through with this later on or this does develop) **

**Also, Naruto is not going to take over Kenichi's role as the person who inherits the styles of all the masters. While he will eventually be called a disciple of all of them, from what I understand a disciple in the series inherits his master's style and techniques to pass them on. Naruto has his own thing he's going to be doing and won't be that kind of disciple. **

**Anyway, that's it for today! See you all again soon! **

**And thank you for your support and reading this!**

**P.S.  
Bonus respect to you if you recognize what played when Naruto's alarm went off. **


	3. Show Me What You've Got

**Hello and Happy New Year!**

**This is the rewritten third chapter of this story! I don't know how many of you read my other story on this site, but I'll make announcement here too. I haven't been able to update for the past few months due to a variety of factors such as: Work, School, Holidays, and stuff like that. In addition to that, my previous laptop which held all of my stories crashed hard and is now deceased. I had half of this chapter written and I've taken the past two or so weeks to rewrite it while focusing on other side projects that I had. Updates should be more frequent now or at least I hope so.**

**I'll also probably post a story outside of the Naruto-genre soon just so I can branch out my thoughts a bit. It gets a little boring thinking about Naruto all the time despite how different he can be in each story and all that. **

**Probably focus on either a Harry Potter crossover idea I have or a plain Harry Potter one. I have partially finished first chapters of multiple ideas of both options. I'll probably see what I like the most as I write them and then post one or two to see how well they're ****received. This will probably happen over the weekend. After that, I'll either update this again or A Sage in Fiore. Probably this one since I've been having daydreams of an epic fight between Naruto and Rock Lee at some point in the very far future and striving for that gives me shivers.**

**Anyway, time for some small divergencies here. A character being met that we know little of in canon and Naruto's skills being assessed. We'll move on from there and I think we'll all enjoy the ride.**

**Thank you for your continued support and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!**

* * *

Buttoning his blue jacket, Naruto walked towards the door of his apartment with his bag in hand and ready to leave. Well, almost ready to leave. There was one thing Naruto still needed to take with him and it was by the door, leaning against the wall.

A long and thin, sleeve-like bag tied at the end with an orange string was the last thing he needed to take before leaving. The bag itself was a simple black since personalization was more expensive than it was worth, but the string at the very least was cheap and it suited his tastes. Inside, a shinai he had bought a few months rested. Unlike the bag, he had paid a decent amount for the wooden sword since he needed quality materials to train with. The bamboo was strong, yet yielding to blows so that it wouldn't snap like a rigid twig when used and the grip was durable if a little dirty. He would have to clean it again soon since his sweaty palms would leave stains. Though he did maintain its strength to make sure it would stay in top condition at all times despite neglecting the grip to an extent.

Using the strap of his school bag today to hold the bag with his left arm, Naruto slung the shinai bag over his right and went out the door. He paused a moment to ensure that the electric lock had indeed worked. Just because he didn't really have anything valuable in his apartment didn't mean he wanted to give others ideas. It would have been better if he could at least set up a few pranks as traps, but the landlord had given him an earful the last time he did that.

Not worth the trouble of listening to that coot yelling in his ear about being a public nuisance.

Oh well, not the time to think about that. He didn't train that much yesterday besides trying to work on controlling his ki for jumps, keeping up with the Elder, and then dealing with all the new twists and turns in his life. There was plenty of time still before class started, more so than yesterday so a sprint to school wouldn't be a good idea. Practicing in the park for a while it is.

Naruto then walked down the stairs of the apartment complex, nodding and waving to anyone who happened to pass him by. Despite most likely hearing of the landlord berating him or even hearing the event itself, they all gave a polite nod back or a smile. The people here really were pleasant compared to what he was used to. Shame it took him so long to notice.

Another minute and the complex was out of sight and he walked through the streets of the suburbs. Little houses, trees, bushes, and all the pleasant things that he had come to expect passed by him as he went by. A sigh of contentment escaped him as he walked towards the local park. There really wasn't anything he could compare this to from Konoha. Regardless of if it was the trade distract, the civilian housing areas, or even the storage distracts, Konoha was built with military tactics in mind. If one area was to fall, it could be taken back with minimal preparation and a skeleton team. Not exactly built with the ideals of peace and joy ingrained in the architecture.

Turning the corner, Naruto arrived at the park. It was similar to one in Konoha for the children who had yet to enter the ninja academy or a trade school with a large clearing filled with trees, bushes, and flowers even, and then the playscape. Children would go down the slides, swing on the swings, or even try their hand at climbing around the thing on the monkey bars or scale the playscape itself. The thought of it gave Naruto a small smile despite his own experiences. Children making friends with others and playing with each other almost made him feel a barrel of emotions.

'I wonder…if I ever have kids, will they be able to play like that?'

The single melancholy thought threatened to bring numerous thoughts such as: if he would ever see Konoha again, would his children become shinobi like him, would they be discriminated against, and would he even find a woman who would have him.

"**Don't start, Brat. Not the place and not the time. You're better off here. I'm better off here. We're better off here."**

'You don't know that…'

Another memory went through his mind. The last thing he remembered before waking up in that alley.

A young man with gray skin and hand-like wings flying at him with a fist incased in electricity. He remembered his rage at the boy as he lost feeling in his arm. Why? Why did it come to this? How could he have not prevented it? The boy was to blame. Yes, if only he would see reason.

Naruto would make him see reason.

The rest dissolved into a haze of red as he formed a sphere of vermillion energy in his hand, the first time he had managed to create it without alternate means.

A single thought rang out before Naruto couldn't remember anything more.

"I don't want to hate you."

Naruto spoke the thought out loud, though he didn't know whom he had originally directed it toward. The boy who he called brother? Himself? Someone else who showed up after Naruto couldn't remember anymore?

Shaking his head, Naruto knew that the Kyubi was right on one account at least. This wasn't the time or place to think about it. He didn't want to argue with the fox today. It was an old argument between them and the only one that really got them angry at each other now.

It was always terrible to say all the things they thought on the subject and then ignore each other for days on end before one would randomly begin their usual pattern of behavior. They had gotten used to speaking to one another simply because they were all the other had. Naruto had nothing else and no one else from Konoha to remember his home by and the Kyubi had whatever reasons it did even if it didn't share them with Naruto.

Walking towards the playscape and past it, Naruto stopped at the largest open space there was in the park and set his bag against a tree. Slinging the shinai off of his shoulder, Naruto griped one end of the string and pulled. Storing it in his pocket, Naruto took out the shinai. He wouldn't go all out and he really had no reason to. He had school in a little bit and he needed to practice coordination and technique rather than speed and strength. Going to class sweaty and most likely teaching him the wrong things to be unlearned later would not be pleasant.

The polished bamboo blade was just as Naruto remembered it from days ago. He had specifically chosen a heavier one just so he could mimic the weight of a real sword or at least a pipe. Better to adjust to faster blows than slower ones when he actually fought. Naruto put the bag under his school bag so that it wouldn't get blown away by the wind.

Settling himself into a two handed stance with the shinai directly in front of him, Naruto took a deep breath. He imagined an opponent in front of him in the same position as him. It was a basic stance, suited for attack, defense, or preparing for a counter-attack. Naruto would prefer the first or last option to be honest, but knew of no stances suited for them. His imaginary opponent rushed him, the blade it wielded up in the air for a downward strike at his head.

Naruto responded by raising his own shinai at the moment the strike would descend. But rather than blocking directly and making it a contest of strength, Naruto blocked from the side and continued the motion to let the blade slide harmlessly of his own to the side. His shinai rose in the air, Naruto brought it down for a strike himself, but his opponent took advantage of being directed to the side and rolled away.

Not strictly something that you would see in a kendo match, but rules and traditions weren't applicable in a fight. Recovering from his strike, Naruto turned and resumed his stance while his opponent did the same in his mind.

'It really isn't that good to practice against something that only can use moves you come up with yourself,' Naruto thought.

"**It's a good thing that you have company then."**

'What?'

Naruto turned to look around and was surprised to see that the Kyubi was correct. Standing perhaps ten meters away, a girl wearing his school's uniform watched Naruto practice. Once more Naruto recognized her from his class and briefly wondered why he seemed to be meeting so many of his classmates outside of it.

She was a brunette, her hair lighter than he was used to seeing. She had a heart-shaped face that Naruto assumed many would find attractive, though not exceedingly beautiful like the way people found Miu. She was quite slim also, but Naruto couldn't tell if it was because of her diet and lifestyle or because she actively did physical activities. There were two things that stood out to Naruto about the girl: one, she had very pretty eyes. They were a grayish violet, a color that Naruto had yet to see despite the various exotic colors that people had in Konoha. Secondly, there was a thin bag slung over her shoulder.

A bag that matched the bag he used to hold his shinai.

"**Surprise! I sensed her yesterday as we passed that large group of bumbling schoolgirls and she stood out among them. She had some malicious intent directed at you during class as well. I do believe she wants a spar. Do show the little whelp her place."**

"Good morning, Uzumaki-san," she said in an even tone. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't bubbling over with excitement and warmth like Miu's.

"Morning…Sorry, what's your name?" Naruto asked awkwardly. He really should've paid a bit more attention to the names of his classmates.

"Himeno Makoto. It's a little rude to not recognize your classmates, Uzumaki-san," Makoto chided lightly, putting her brown school bag down. She then let the other bag slide down her arm and undid a strap. Exposing the hilt, she pulled a shinai out. "You could apologize with a quick spar?" her lips upturned into a small smile.

"Uh, kinda blunt, aren't you?"

"Hm, I think that's fine. I can't really ask in any other way, right?" she answered back, rolling her arms to warm herself up. "I'm part of the kendo club, but I've never seen you there so I'm a little curious to see how good you are. Is that a problem?"

"**She's a bit like you, isn't she? She's definitely more polite though. Can you take lessons from her?" **

"Not really. We can't go too hard though; I don't want to go to class looking like a mess," Naruto answered, ignoring the Kyubi.

Makoto smirked. "You sound like one of my friends, Uzumaki-san." She took her stance, similar to Naruto's. But, her stance immediately spoke of one thing that Naruto didn't have: true experience against people who practiced forms and knew more about how to use a sword. Or a shinai in this case as it were. Naruto was certain that at the very least that his body's abilities were higher than hers though. He could try to brute forcing his way here or aiming for angles. If she fought using conventional rules then he would have the advantage by using unorthodox moves. Anything else he would adapt to on the fly.

It was what his fighting style was based on after all.

No, best bet would be to try to work around her defenses and attacks. He couldn't always count to be stronger and it wouldn't be good to start a habit of it of charging in here as well.

Naruto took his stance and then paused to tilt his head. "Until first hit or until we're out of time?"

"First hit. We do have class after all."

"Alright then. Ready, Makoto-chan?"

Makoto narrowed her eyes. "I don't we're close enough for you to use my first name. But, I'm ready."

"Hehe, sorry. Bad habit." Naruto chuckled, ignoring the urge to scratch the back of his head. "Hajime!"

Makoto kicked off the ground and instead of raising her shinai to strike, she kept it still so that it would crash against his. She wanted to see how strong he was without leaving herself open in case he dodged or counter-attacked.

Naruto rose to her challenge and dug his heel into the ground. With a loud clack, the two shinai met each other and both teens struggled to push the other back. Finding his expectation to be correct, Naruto was able to push the brunette back with some effort. Though the action didn't unbalance her at all and Makoto landed on her feet with no opening.

Not wanting to let her have the initiative twice, Naruto decided he would need to prod her defense now. Raising his shinai so that the middle of the blade was parallel with his eyes, Naruto swung down while also keeping his distance.

The tip of his blade connected with hers though instead of taking the hit directly, she directed the blow to the side. Bringing her arm back, she attempted a one-handed thrust towards Naruto. Counting on the fact that Naruto would be leaning forward after his attack despite the distance, she would be able to tag him with the tip of her shinai if only just barely.

Instead of trying to back away or bringing his shinai back to guard, Naruto ducked under the blow then took advantage of his bent knees to get within arm's reach of Makoto by jumping forward. His shinai still at his side, he tried a sweeping blow. She would be too close to block properly after having her arm outstretched and jumping back wouldn't be enough to get out of his reach.

With her eyes widened in shock and realization of her mistake of thrusting, Makoto turned her body sideways and utilized footwork to get to the Naruto's side. The swing wouldn't be able to reach her well enough unless Naruto could twist his body quickly enough. But, such a move required not only the conditioning of the body, but also the experience to employ the movement instantly.

Being caught up in his movement to the side and trying to keep Makoto in his line of sight is the only reason he saw her attack coming. Diving this time away from her and to her side, Naruto rolled and got back onto his feet as she got back into her stance.

"You know none of that would be allowed in a tournament match, don't you?" she questioned with a huff.

"You know that I'm not part of a club or do tournament matches, don't you?" he quipped back, sliding back into his stance as well. Taking the initiative again, Naruto tried a direct approach in full this time. She didn't have the strength to outright repel him and seemed to depend on skill and footwork to avoid attacks. There was a limit to that though when your opponent's strength was too much for you to even direct. Makoto seemed to be a person who would rely on counter-attacks and a solid defense rather than attacking herself. Attacking her would be playing into her hands, but not attacking her would let her take the initiative to make him do what she wanted anyway.

He was best on the offensive anyway.

Raising his shinai until the hilt was out of sight, he stepped forward and brought it down on top of her. Ki flooded his arm and his heart sped up in response, a ferocious grin on his face. Makoto tried to side step his blow again, but was surprised. She was used to her opponents following proper form and technique because that was what was expected of them in competitions and in practice. She assumed because Naruto had a shinai, he would follow the rules of she was used to.

Naruto was not a sportsman. Her assumption of that he was is what cost her the spar.

Improvising, Naruto shifted his swing to the side instead of letting it fall all the way down. The blow ended up tapping her hips lightly after losing much of its power and momentum from changing its course. No injury would come from it besides a girl's bruised pride.

They stood still for a moment.

"Well, that was unfair," she pouted. It was a bit strange to see on her face after sparing against her. Actually, Naruto didn't think he had ever spared against someone of the fairer sex. Kakashi-sensei was never really big on having his students spar against each other. In the academy, Naruto was usually paired against the hardier boys since he had much more endurance and was a bit rougher than expected. "I didn't think you would do any of those movements."

"You're too used to tournament rules. This is why I'm not part of a club; unless you have the reflexes for it, it's not that great when you start using it in street-fights." Naruto let his shinai rest at his side as he started to walk towards his bags. Reaching into the front pocket, he pulled out a black flip-phone with a strap that was attached to a toad charm. He checked the time and saw that they would have to set out for class now unless they wanted to run later by waiting a little more.

"Time to head out?" Makoto called to him. She was putting her shinai back into her own bag as she glanced back towards the streets. There were several students walking and some were glancing towards them to see what they were doing.

"Just about. Want to head out together?" Naruto asked shamelessly. He understood that there was some significance about walking alone with a girl, but he thought it was a load of shite. If he wanted to walk with someone then he was going to walk with someone, damn it.

"Just this once," she answered with a small smile. "You did win, even if it was by breaking tournament rules. But, you're right about them being not being useful in a real fight unless you're that good. I guess I'm a little limited right now. I'll want a rematch though; you're good for training spontaneous reactions."

"**Congratulations, you beat a green-horn. How do you feel?"**

'Hey! She was pretty good!'

"**That's because she has more talent than you do with a sword and is far more experienced with that splinter. You won because you have more experience in real fights and because she didn't lay down any ground rules."**

"Are you coming, Uzumaki-san?" Makoto asked, her bags on her person already.

"Yea. Sorry about that, Himeno-chan. Spaced out there for a bit."

"You're still too familiar with someone whose name you just learned."

"Get used to it. This is as formal as I'm getting. And just 'Naruto' is fine."

"Whatever you say, Uzumaki-san," she responded with a smile on her face.

"**I think that's her way of saying 'get used to it'."**

* * *

Naruto walked with Makoto to school and into the classroom where they parted ways. They made small talk on the way, talking about the spar and how each other their moves had their pros and cons. Occasionally they would mention something else like what they would do later in the day or Naruto would question Makoto about her place in the kendo club.

Sitting in his seat, Naruto placed his head in his arms and waited for the bell to ring or for Miu to arrive. She hadn't been there when he arrived so he assumed she was on her way still. Kenichi wasn't there either and Naruto hoped he wouldn't be late again. Actually, he might have hoped a little that Kenichi would be late. Standing in the hall with the bucket would be good for his endurance and all that. Though he still thought that leaving Kenichi out of the lesson was bad idea. Naruto wondered if it would count as insubordination and result in a detention if he brought that up.

Hearing the door slide open, Naruto glanced over to see a pair of glasses and blonde hair braided into a tail. He blinked before his mind registered that the girl was Miu. He had forgotten that the girl wasn't wearing the glasses in her home yesterday and had let her hair flow down her back naturally. He would ask later since he assumed there was a reason.

"Good morning, Uzumaki-san!" she cheerfully said as she walked over and took the seat in front of him.

Naruto felt the glares of every hot-blooded male in the room fix onto him. Well, this was new. Naruto didn't think he'd even been the subject of envy for _this_ reason yet. He hadn't really been the subject of envy ever really. Maybe during the Chūnin Exams, come to think of it.

Still, there was also the question of why Miu was addressing him with his last name now.

"Morning, Miu-chan. How are you holding up?" Naruto asked with a smile.

"I'm fine. Grandfather asked me to tell you that you can drop by any time after school. Shigure-san is back from her trip too, so you can meet her today."

Well, that was good news. Naruto was curious to see what the last master of Ryōzanpaku was like. All he had so far was that she scared Sakaki when she talked in her sleep. He wondered what could scare someone like that just from being said.

"That's great! I have my shinai with me too so I won't have to get it later, dattebayo!"

Miu giggled before reigning it in. "You said that yesterday too, Uzumaki-san. What does it mean?"

"Oh, nothing really, hehe. Just something I say when I get excited over something." Naruto paused for a moment after chuckling. "What's with the 'Uzumaki-san' today? You were fine with using my first name yesterday."

That seemed to embarrass Miu as she flushed lightly at remembering that. "Ah, I'm just so used to calling everyone by their first name at home that I included you in that since we don't really have guests. I shouldn't have overstepped like that." She put her hands on her knees and looked down as if she was actually a little ashamed of that.

The girl really needed to get some friends her age. Luckily she had him now.

"I'm with just 'Naruto' really. Besides, we're friends so it's not a big deal, right?" Naruto stated as he smiled hard enough that his cheeks stretched and closed his eyes out of habit. His whisker marks seemed to elongate and drew Miu's attention to them once more.

"Are those tattoo's, Naruto-san?" Miu asked with a hint of disapproval. On one hand, they were like whiskers and Miu approved of everything related to cats. But, on the other, he really shouldn't have done something like that to his face. It probably was very painful to get done and would look strange as he aged.

"Actually these are birth-marks. I've had-"

"Good morning class." The voice of the teacher rang out before Naruto could reply to Miu. He supposed he could talk to Miu later.

Kenichi never showed up on time either. Naruto wondered what the odds of two days in a row were.

* * *

Kenichi did indeed show up, a few minutes late though. Again. Thus, Kenichi stood outside with the bucket. Again.

Classes went on as usual until it was time for lunch. Naruto trudged through the lessons as well as he could and nearly fell asleep more than once. The only reason he didn't was because the Kyubi would have a set of a wisecracks to try to keep him awake. It was both a good and a bad thing. It was a good thing because he stayed awake so he could actually learn what he was supposed to. It was a bad thing since the Kyubi got to have a few shots at Naruto since he couldn't exactly have a verbal spar while paying attention.

Kenichi came into first period after they were dismissed from homeroom. Though he was glancing at Miu with an incredulous expression as if he couldn't believe something. Naruto would question him later, during lunch probably. He'd take Miu along with him for the ride as well and see where it took them all.

Standing up from his seat as the bell rang to dismiss them all from their fourth period classes, Naruto thought about how he should have asked Miu where she would be for lunch or even ask Kenichi the same. Now he had to look for two people instead of one and they would probably be in different parts of the school to boot!

"**Forethought has never been your specialization. The closest you get to it is in a fight."**

'Fine. Where do you think I should look?'

"**I don't know. You little ants tend to horde your food and then eat it wherever. Whenever I decided to eat, I ate where I killed my food."**

'That makes perfect sense. I'll just go to the rice fields and find them both sitting there eating.'

Naruto set off with his bag on his shoulder and tried to find one of his two friends. With Miu's appearance, she would probably be the easier of the duo to find. There would be people who would be looking for her because they would want to eat with her or something like that. Naruto wasn't sure why they all went in roundabout ways to get her attention. In Konoha, if you liked someone, then you were blunt with it. Death was a common thing and you didn't want to have regrets. Then there were marriage contracts between clans sometimes. Marrying children together to keep the peace, for stronger shinobi, or simply because one clan wanted to spite someone. It was rarer to see someone who held back their feelings and didn't act on them really. If these boys wanted to get her attention, then they should just ask her out straight up. He had done it with Sakura despite his lack of success.

At least he had the stones to through with it.

"**Yes, it's a shame that your judgment in picking her was quite flawed." **

'Yea, yea, I'm over it, you know that. Making that promise to her before we left to get Sasuke back showed me that much.'

As Naruto searched the school, his thoughts turned to that day. When he promised Sakura that he would bring Sasuke back, he wondered if she would've asked the same of someone else for him. They were friends, but that was all really. Naruto understood that now and he thought about how fitting that was. He was an orphan who became a shinobi and had little to his name. He wasn't a pretty-boy like Sasuke was and he wasn't insanely talented either. His skills were rooted in determination and a predisposition towards fighting in general.

What could he have offered Sakura that she didn't have or someone else could've given?

It didn't matter anymore, he supposed. She was far away now anyway.

He wandered the halls and eventually saw Kenichi by chance. The boy was sitting outside on a bench underneath the shade of a tree. He was digging through his bag looking for something and didn't notice Miu sitting in the tree above him, a bento in her lap.

'Huh. What are the odds?'

"**If we're talking about luck, then they we're pretty good. The fates seem to either throw themselves at you or get pissed off that you rejected them and shit on you. Maybe you shouldn't spurn them this time. Who knows what the payback will be."**

'…How would I even accept them?'

"**This is why we can't have nice things."**

'UGH!'

Looking around, Naruto saw no one looking and there was no one outside on the ground below besides Kenichi and Miu, so he decided to take the shortcut to them. Opening the window with a kunai he had hidden in his sleeve, Naruto climbed onto the ledge before he gripped the edge with his hands and closed the window. Letting go, Naruto slid down the side of the building before he reached the next windowed ledge below him and gripped it. He repeated the process until he reached the ground and realized someone on the other floors probably should've seen him. Opps.

Naruto wasn't sure how Kenichi hadn't noticed him yet, but Miu did at least. She simply shook her head when their eyes met. Unlike her, Naruto wasn't as interested in keeping his abilities to himself, taking only minimal precautions. Come to think of it, she hadn't yet explained why she wore the glasses here and he was probably curious about it. Something to do later after his assessment at Ryōzanpaku she thought.

"Yo! How you doin, Kenichi?" Naruto called out to his friend.

Kenichi jumped for a moment and stopped searching through his pack to see who had spoken to him.

"Uzumaki-san! Where did you come from?" Kenichi half-shouted and half-asked.

"There are a lot ways I can answer that. But, you see, Kenichi, when a lady and a guy start having butterflies in their stomachs and a pressure down below, they-"

"I didn't mean it that way, Uzumaki-san!"

"Oh. This is awkward then. I thought it might lighten you up since you were being so formal. Just 'Naruto' is fine. What were you looking for anyway?"

Kenichi's comical rage vanished and instead an embarrassed chuckle escaped him. "Well, there was a book I had, but I can't find it anymore."

"Ah, would it be this book then?" Miu asked from above them, letting Kenichi know she was there.

Well, she tried to let Kenichi know she was there.

"This is a book that teaches you how to make friends. I just transferred in so I don't have many right now…" Miu continued despite Kenichi not responding in the positive. Instead, the boy kept looking around trying to find the source of the voice, questioning out loud about "What?" or "Where?"

Naruto proceeded to help him by lightly flicking his forehead so that Kenichi's head would bend back slightly and include Miu in his field of vision.

Too bad Miu also decided to take mercy on the poor boy.

It was also unfortunate that her definition of mercy was to jump down while wearing a skirt while Naruto had flicked Kenichi's head upward. Naruto briefly wondered if the sight his new friend saw was worth the face full of shoe he got as Miu bounced off of his face while using one hand to keep her skirt down. Naruto then wondered how the boy would react since he hadn't missed the looks most of his male classmate gave Miu and had spent most of his time with perverts earlier in his life. Cough Kakashi cough Jiraiya cough Sandaime cough.

Kenichi, however, didn't react in that way at all and instead pointed to himself with a downcast expression. Naruto even swore he could see a stream of tears falling from the boy's face.

"…Did I ever give you any trouble?" he asked and Naruto wondered if a storm cloud would gather above Kenichi's head. "…Did I ever make you angry?" Geez, Kenichi really didn't have any confidence if he was this downcast about this. Though jumping straight to asking if he made Miu angry did ring an alarm bell or two inside Naruto's head.

'Getting pissed I can understand, but bending over backwards this much over something like this….'

"**The frail meat-pile is insecure. I can feel the frustration rolling off of him along with desire to improve himself."**

'Meat-pile…?'

"**Meatbags at least have some structure to them. You have that spine and bones of yours to keep yourselves together. This one might as well be a pile of waste for how docile he is."**

'That's… not nice?' Naruto tried to respond, as he couldn't rightfully say that the Kyubi wasn't right in his statement.

"**I'm not nice." **

While Naruto was conversing with the Kyubi, Miu apologized to Kenichi and berated herself for being a klutz and Kenichi seemed to be caught between stopping her or backing off due to the athleticism she had displayed in kicking him.

Miu pulled herself together and then shyly brought a hand under her chin and twisted her legs in anxiety before finally asking, "Can…I be your friend?"

Naruto watched Kenichi make a… face. Really it was kind of disturbing; the way his irises somehow become smaller and his sclera grew larger along with his mouth hanging open in shock was just freaky. Naruto quickly whacked Kenichi behind the head to knock the boy out of his shock and so that he could give a response to Miu.

"Y-yea. You can be my friend." Kenichi leaned against the tree, either in an attempt to look cool or because he didn't know how to deal with the situation. "I have a big heart." Yea, definitely trying to look cool.

"Really!?" Miu exclaimed in excitement before remembering to return Kenichi's book. "Here's your book! Ah, I'm so happy! Now I have two friends."

Kenichi accepted the book with a small blush and rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks." He then looked between both Miu and Naruto and whispered, "Please don't tell anyone about this book." Obviously he was a bit self-conscious about reading a book on how to make friends.

Naruto shrugged while Miu gave a happy nod.

"I haven't introduced myself," Miu said as she laid a hand on her chest, "I'm Furinji Miu. Just call me Miu!"

The three of them sat down on the bench near them though it was a little cramped. "My name is Shirahama Kenichi. You can just call me Kenichi, like Naruto does."

'Did he ever give me permission to call him by his first name?' Naruto mentally asked himself.

"**No. You just decided to do it anyway, disrespectful brat. Why do you care? You never did before?"**

'Well, they seem kinda prickly about that here. I mean, remember this morning?'

An uninterested grunt from the fox brought that short conversation to a close.

"I have so many things to ask," Miu began as she continued to eat from her bento. "Is there an acrobatics club here?"

Naruto thought about that for a moment before nodding. "Yea, I know we have one. Don't know much about it though."

"They won a championship before, I think," Kenichi threw in, eager to contribute something.

"Really? That's great then," Miu said with a happy sigh. "I've always wanted to try a more feminine hobby." Naruto held back a snort. He didn't really understand the difference between a feminine hobby and a manly one. Though that could be his passing interest in gardening. "What about you two? Are you part of any clubs?"

"Nope," Naruto stated while popping the "p". He would join a club when there was a useful one and joining Ryozanpaku so far seemed like a much better use of his time. At least joining a club wasn't required.

Kenichi, however, stood up enthusiastically and punched the air with an attempt at proper form. "The karate club!"

Naruto did snort this time, but in an attempt at holding back a laugh. Miu lightly puffed out her cheeks to hold back a giggle while adjusting her glasses. Kenichi stared blankly ahead.

"You both must think 'no way', right?" Kenichi said as he put a hand on the tree and leaned forward in despair. "In your hearts, you're both thinking 'Wah…he must be dreaming'."

"Ah, no!" Miu cried out while Naruto empathetically patted Kenichi on his shoulder.

"It's fine, Kenichi. People used to say I wouldn't be any good either. Now, I can punch them all out. Life's funny like that."

Both Miu and Kenichi stared at the blond for a moment.

"…I use violence to solve lots of my problems." Naruto tried to defend himself.

Miu however smiled brightly and just said, "I think you both would be happy learning martial arts."

Naruto returned her smile while Kenichi simply pondered the sharp look in Miu's eyes when said that.

* * *

The rest of the day passed relatively quickly and when it was over, Naruto quickly bid Kenichi a good-bye and wished him luck at his club while Miu said she had other things to take care like registering for the acrobatics club before she would leave. Naruto then rushed out, his school bag and his shinai bag on him. He briefly saw Makoto wearing a white and blue haori for the kendo club and gave a brief shout and wave. Naruto wasn't sure, but he thought he saw an acknowledging wave as he ran past her.

It was with this rush that he arrived at the entrance of Ryozanpaku and stared hatefully at the gates.

"Not this time, dattebayo. Not this time..." he muttered under his breath as he focused his ki and dug his heels into the ground. Putting his hands on the gates, he put his weight forward and began to push. He had more trouble than he would have liked last night and that…irritated him. Things that irritated Uzumaki Naruto had a habit of being taken care in one-way or another. With his spite pushing him, Naruto began to move he gates a bit more quickly than he did yesterday and the achievement made him put more effort into his task. With that, he successfully opened the gates in a much smaller amount of time though with more effort.

"Hah! You might've been the heaviest set of doors I've ever seen, but no door can beat me, dattebayo! Go suck on a bowl of ramen, teme!"

"…**Are you really going to taunt planks of wood?"**

…

'Well, when you say it like that, it sounds pretty stupid.'

"**It is stupid, idiot." **A sigh escaped the monster fox before it responded again. **"Just… go inside and get yourself some new meatbags to teach you… give the meatbags their money and go be their problem for a while."**

Naruto huffed. He wasn't anyone's problem, damn it! He was his own problem! In fact, he wasn't even a problem. he was a solution!

"Apa!" The partially open doors were throw open as a bronze giant appeared. "Naruto is here! Apachai is happy to see new student!"

Naruto cut off his connection to the fox and gave a cheerful grin. "Apachai-sensei!" he greeted with a shout to match the man's. This was both the right and the wrong thing to do it seems as the man froze before crouching down while shaking. "Uh… Apachai-sensei?" Did he say the wrong thing? Naruto thought that he was supposed to call all of his teachers that, so everyone there, sensei. Hell, the only teacher he had that he hadn't extended that courtesy to was Jiriaya and that's because Ero-Sennin was such a better fit and Naruto thought it honestly was a title above sensei.

"**Apa!" **the man shouted as he straightened himself and Naruto could have sworn his eyes were shining like headlights. **"Apachai is a sensei!" **Without any further delay, he grasped Naruto by the arm and started to run back to the main house of the dojo while consistently chanting "apapapapa". Naruto was left to swing in the air from the man's speed and strength as he frowned, not really considering the situation that strange. He's had some really, _really_, eccentric teachers after all.

"Everyone! Naruto here!" Apachai said as he opened the door to the main house and yelled. "We all start teaching now? Apachai go first!"

"Oi, Apachai! Quiet down, I'm trying to drink a beer here," Sakaki said as he was laying down on his side in the room.

"Yo, Bum-sensei." Naruto's grin could've made a fox envious as he waited for the man's reaction. The blond had already decided that Sakaki was going to be the one teacher he knew he could expect a fun time from and teasing people was a past time for Naruto.

"Getting a bit smart with me, huh Brat?" Sakaki replied as he sat up and crossed his legs. "You wanna go take it outside?" the scared man asked with a wicked looking smirk.

Still being held up by Apachai, Naruto began flailing in the air in excitement. Finally, someone Naruto knew was so far ahead of him that he knew he would be getting something out of the fight. Sparring against Makoto-chan was one thing since he just plain out started out with using weaponry, but this was another level- no, another world away from that. Naruto was slightly reminded of his first encounter with Tsunade though this lacked any of the anger involved in that situation. "I'm good to go right now, Bum-sensei!"

"Tch, don't think calling me 'sensei' is gonna make me want to teach you!" the man shouted though he turned away his head and lightly scratched under his nose to hide the small grin.

Before this could progress any further, a short figure ran into the room and hid under the table. Everyone paused and Naruto struggled out of his uniform's jacket so that he could fall to the ground and look under the table.

There he found Kensei holding a black camera as he tried to make himself seem uninteresting and invisible.

The man was failing on both accounts.

"…Chibi Ero-sensei… what are you doing?" Naruto questioned while trying to poke the man with his shinai bag.

The man swatted the bag away and furiously whispered to the blond, "Stop that! She'll notice me!" Naruto wondered if the man had even noticed what he had called him.

'She?'

Naruto's unspoken question was answered as he heard something he hadn't heard in person since the Elemental Nations: a sword being drawn from its sheath from behind him.

Acting on survival instincts that had been ingrained from years at the academy and furthermore in his days as a genin, Naruto leaped forward to get away from whomever was behind him and tucked into a roll as he landed on the other side of the table before spinning around. The kunai he kept within his sleeve shot into his grasp with a flick of his wrist and he spun it so he could hold it downwards and thus be more comfortable blocking a sword.

Any thoughts at defending or attacking though were stopped at seeing the person in front of him.

'Holy Kami above…'

"**Oh great, you've discovered your hormones. Joy."**

Standing with a sword more than halfway drawn, a young woman was… somehow blankly glaring at Kensei who was still under the table. The first thing that Naruto noticed aside from that was that she was incredibly beautiful. Naruto could safely say that he had never once gawked at a woman before, no matter how beautiful she was and frequently took that as a sign that he wouldn't turn out like his teachers. The curvy, black haired woman in front of him though was making him seriously reconsider his values though. It wasn't just her figure though as her outfit was almost shinobi like. A small, pink kimono that stopped at her thighs and purple stockings gave her an erotic style of fashion and she wore a chainmail shirt underneath. The last thing that caught his attention were her eyebrows, as above her violet eyes she seemed to have lightening bolts zigzagging across her brow.

The thought of someone with strange eyebrows made him think of a certain duo and he had to make sure of something right now.

"Please don't make me wear a green jumpsuit!" Naruto cried as he abandoned any stance he had and bowed to the floor.

With no reply forth coming, Naruto allowed himself to look up and saw that everyone was staring at him strangely. Well, except for Apachai who was still holding onto Naruto's school jacket and just gave a happy grin. And except for the woman who was giving him a half-lidded, sleepy stare. And except for Kensei who seemed to be taking this chance to escape.

…

Okay, so only Sakaki was looking at Naruto like he had lost all his marbles.

"New…student?" the woman asked, a pause between her words.

Before anyone could answer, the Elder somehow managed to make his way into the room relatively unnoticed, or at least unnoticed by Naruto.

"Oh, Naru-chan. You came by so quickly. It makes an old man happy to see drive from the next generation."

Naruto got up and stuck his fist out in greeting and happiness from the compliment. "You bet, Superman-sensei." Taking a page from the Kyubi's book was the only thing Naruto could do to think of a name for the old man. Though there was no way he was gonna start calling the Elder "Super Meatbag".

"Oh, you know my little nickname already," the Elder said as he pulled his beard up and down, a nostalgic smile on his face.

"…People actually call you that?" Naruto asked before receiving a nod. "Damn, I'm gonna have to think of something else."

The Elder gave a brief chuckle before gesturing to the woman. "This here is Shigure, the weapons expert here at our little dojo. Shigure, this is the boy we were talking about this morning."

Naruto gave his usual smile before waving enthusiastically to the woman, "Hey, nice to meet you! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

Shigure nodded and inclined her head, just ever so slightly. "Kosaka…Shigure." She then turned and sliced at the camera that Kensei was holding since he had stopped moving when the Elder appeared. The man jumped backward and flipped through the air before landing while keeping his other hand on his hat. The Elder stopped any further development by clapping and then turning back to Naruto.

"Now, let's go see what Naru-chan can do.

* * *

"Alright, Bum-sensei! Show me what you got, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted as he crouched down to the ground and was ready to charge forward. The masters of the dojo had offered him a karate gi, but Naruto had turned it down on the basis that most of his fights had been in this uniform and he didn't want to get out of it if they were going to see what he was capable of now.

In front of him, Sakaki had followed Naruto's example and wore his usual outfit of jeans and jacket although he didn't take any proper stance against the blond shinobi. "Doesn't work like that, brat. You have to show me what you got." There was the ever-present smirk as well.

The two and the rest of the dojo/household were outside instead of inside the dojo. The reason for that was… well, the residents just declared that it was a nice day out and that it was suitable to fight outside. Naruto didn't mind since almost every fight he had in his life took place outdoors and it provided him with opportunities to use the terrain to help him.

In between them, Akisame stood as the overseer of the examination and when he was sure that both Naruto and Sakaki were ready, he raised an arm and then shouted "Begin!"

Charging forward with a leap as Akisame jumped out of the way, Naruto closed the distance between him and Sakaki. Naruto brought a fist back and aimed it Sakaki's throat as he jumped up to reach it.

Sakaki easily caught it, but slightly widened his eyes when saw Naruto used the opportunity of having someone taller hold him to bring both of his legs up and went for a double kick to his chest. The man brought his arm down to block the kick, but Naruto didn't relent as he used the arm as a springboard to push himself off of the man and used his still gripped arm to swing his body up. This time the boy's feet were aimed at smashing into the alcoholic's head. Deciding he had had enough of the boy's eccentric movements, Sakaki threw the boy away from him and towards the wall of one of the buildings.

Not having the chance to flip himself so that he would at least hit with his legs to jump off, Naruto slammed face and stomach first into the wall. The watching crowd pointed and chuckled a bit, though that ended when Naruto didn't waste any time in getting up and rushing forward again.

Naruto reached into the pocket of his pants and threw several round objects at Sakaki. The man decided to humor the boy and caught them to see what the boy would do if he stood his ground, but was surprised once more when the object he caught exploded when he squeezed them in his closed fist. He then rose an eyebrow when he saw his fist covered in various colors of paint and Naruto took this chance to increase his sprint and then dropped to slide the rest of the way. When Naruto was about to pass Sakaki, the blond thrust a palm into the ground to raise himself and slammed his foot into the man's left calf.

Too bad Naruto's strength wasn't enough to hurt the man. He may be physically strong for the everyday civilian and average fighter and his ki was large and powerful, but he wasn't strong enough or experienced enough to do anything to the master class opponent. Sakaki didn't react apart from kicking out and launching Naruto back once more.

Inwardly though the man was impressed. The kid had quite a bit of ingenuity to how he fought and didn't really stick to any style. Rather it was that Naruto took little lessons he probably heard of or learned himself and applied them in how he hit. It set him apart from the usual categories of a power or skill fighter. The boy depended on power, but he frequently used the various skills he had to apply that power. Naruto would be vicious if and when he got more experience, power, and tricks. Though there were several flaws right now in that Naruto seemed to depend on tricks if fighting a superior opponent. Misdirection was all good, but only when you could continuously pull it off. That trick with the paint balls would only work if he had paint balls and if your opponent wasn't out to immediately crush you. There was also the fact that while the kid could throw a decent punch, he didn't know anything beyond that. Styles could provide techniques that applied knowledge of the human body and other things to produce amazing results and Naruto lacked that.

Deciding to see how the boy took to being on the defensive, Sakaki was the one to rush this time when Naruto got back on his feet once more. Due to the height difference, Sakaki aimed a simple kick at the boy's chest to see how he reacted to forward attacks. Naruto saw the attack coming as he was holding back tremendously, but didn't dodge. Instead, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and took the kick head on and flew back four feet, though he landed on his feet. The blond then shook his arms with a grimace and then was forced to duck as a kick was aimed at his head this time.

Trying to take back some initiative, Naruto took advantage of his crouch and used his legs to push himself up while extending his fist to punch the outstretched leg.

Instead of taking the hit, Sakaki swung his leg down onto the incoming fist and pushed it down along with the rest of the boy. Naruto's face slammed into the earth and he felt his whole head reverberate from the impact before he tried to raise himself.

"You good to keep going, brat?" Sakaki asked as he let Naruto pick himself up.

Naruto's smirk was enough of an answer for him though the boy responded all the same. "It's gonna take a whole lot more than that to keep me down! This is nothing. You sure that you're actually trying to make me hurt even a little?"

It was true too. These little kiddy blows were nothing to other things that Naruto had experienced. While not as extreme, the Kyubi was still capable of healing and dulling the pain of injuries outside of giving Naruto power. That in conjunction with Naruto's natural durability made him able to spar like this indefinitely. If Sakaki wanted Naruto to quit, he would have to knock the boy out or force him to quit by giving more serious blows.

Sakaki did none of these things and instead started laughing loudly. "Ahahahaha! That's good, brat! I think we're done though. You got some way of fighting, I'll give you that." He then turned and started walking towards the other masters. "I think I'll have a tip or two for you. Though I think you still have someone wanting to see what you got."

Before Naruto could question him or insist that they keep sparing, someone threw his shinai bag at him. Naruto caught it and then turned to see Shigure walking forward with a blank expression while holding her sheathed sword.

Naruto instantly knew what was going to happen and started shouting. "Oi, oi, oi! I'm not fighting against someone with a real sword with a shinai! Give me a pipe or a wrench or let me use a kunai or just please don't let me die!" He really would have to resort to the Kyubi's power if they insisted he use a wooden sword against steel just so that he could go at his absolute limit from the start.

Thoughts of that fight with Sasuke at the valley flew through his mind and the image of seeing his reflection in the water with the fox shroud made him shiver. Could he pull that off here even? What would happen if he tapped into that much power.

"Won't use…edge. I'll...use it sheathed," Shigure said to calm Naruto down. It definitely worked as Naruto let out a breath of relief and decided he'd need to loosen up a bit for this. While the uniform didn't necessarily constrain him, it didn't really let his body's heat out and made him sweat more. At least he wasn't wearing his jacket so he just unbuttoned more of the top buttons to let some air into his chest as he then opened the shinai bag and took his wooden blade for the second time today.

Taking a few practice swings with it, Naruto was satisfied that he was still basically one hundred percent ready for anything. He nodded towards the woman and this time no one called the match to begin as she leaped upward and brought her blade down in an overhead strike. Naruto widened his eyes not only at the sudden attack, but at how straight forward it was. Believing that she was testing his responses with a sword as opposed to how he fought with his fists, Naruto leapt backwards instead of taking the blow. If he took something like that with his shinai, it would probably break. Hell, a real sword might break.

'I can't attack straight-on…I have to go from the sides!'

Strafing around Shigure once, Naruto took a shot at her left from behind and tried to keep his distance by only slashing at the limit of his reach. This proved to be wise as Shigure quickly recovered from her attack and blocked his attack with enough force to nearly knock his shinai out of his hand.

Keeping his grip as he was thrown off balance, Naruto had enough time to readjust himself as Shigure gave him the courtesy of getting closer before attacking. The blond kept his shinai in front of him to intercept her blows, but he could tell after only a few attacks that the bamboo was straining to keep itself together. This added a time limit to how long Naruto could fight unlike his spar with Sakaki. He would have to show what he could do now rather than later.

'Damn, this is the worst possible situation… I don't want to her head-on…'

"**That doesn't matter anymore and she's going to force your hand it seems. Show her what you've got, brat. The meatbag I know doesn't take being on the defensive well. Show her your strength as my host with your own arms!" **

Taking the fox's encouragement at face value rather than retorting, Naruto took her next attack by charging into it.

Shigure's eyebrows rose minutely as she saw Naruto rush into her strike. She knew that he knew he was fighting an opponent who was far superior to him like when he sparred against Sakaki, but that was different. In a spar with fists, one could be a little reckless when fighting a superior as punch could be controlled. Even being hit with the sheath of her blade would cause more damage than a light punch and that was why sparing with weapons required more patience and diligence. Still, she knew that his shinai wouldn't take much more punishment and while Naruto had shown skill in fighting with his fists from the little she had seen, he had shown nothing special with the shinai yet. Hopefully pressuring him would bring something to light.

The impact of Naruto's shinai and Shigure's sheathed sword was announced with a crack from the boy's weapon. The damage from the previous attacks and this had resulted in splinters falling from the blade and cracks appearing all over the blade. But, this gave Naruto the opportunity he needed. He knew that Shigure was infinitely more skilled than he was and probably stronger too, but in a spar she had one glaring weakness: she had to hold herself back physically to around his level. If there was one thing Naruto had always been capable of then it was finding that well of hidden strength for that one decisive blow to surpass his limits.

'C'mon! I can do this! I'm Uzu-fucking-maki Naruto and trying harder is what I'm best at!'

With their blades still in contact, Naruto bent his legs and pushed off with all the strength he had and forced both of them to lose their balance. Shigure's expression didn't change, though Naruto could have sworn he had seen a glint of approval in her eyes at his decision as he then used his forward momentum to charge at Shigure to initiate a stab.

Then, his shinai was gone and he fell forward onto the ground.

Blinking once, then twice, he realized his mouth was open and dirt was in it.

'What just happened?'

"**That woman… she took advantage of being thrown off balance and used that to flip out of your attack's range then charged at you while drawing her blade…you'll find the remains of your stick around you."**

What had gone unsaid was that she had been able to do all of that at a moment's notice and went unseen by Naruto. This was supported the click of a sword being sheathed behind Naruto.

"You…are unskilled," he heard Shigure say in her monotone voice and he felt his hopes plummet. Did this mean he wouldn't be taught on how to use weapons? He needed all the skills he could get to compensate for the abilities and opportunities he had lost. "But…creative and can…think on your…feet."

Naruto managed to turn over without getting any of the splinters of his shinai stabbing to him to look at the woman looming over him.

"I…will teach you."

If wasn't for the glare of the setting sun blocking most of his vision, Naruto could've sworn that the woman had a small smile on her face. Either way, he settled for grinning too.

"I'll make you proud, Shigure-sensei!"

* * *

**And chapter done!**

**Not much else to say at this point since most of what I had to say was up above at the beginning. If you have any questions or anything that you'd like a response to, I insist that you message me for a guaranteed and fast response. I will definitely respond within the same day. **


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